Mongabay met Merlin Van Lawick, grandson of conservation icon Jane Goodall, in Paris during the ChangeNOW 2026 environmental forum.Van Lawick is involved in the communication science and communications teams at the Jane Goodall Institute, from his hometown in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.In this interview with Mongabay, he talks about his relationship with his grandmother, how he developed a strong interest in storytelling, and new ways of thinking to scale up impact in a quickly changing world.The forum was also an occasion for him to share the challenges and hopes of the Jane Goodall Institute.
Five months after the passing of conservation icon Jane Goodall in 2025, Mongabay met her grandson, Merlin Van Lawick, at the ChangeNOW 2026 environmental forum in Paris. It was a first trip to the French capital for Van Lawick, who was born, raised and lives today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
He has been connected to the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), the conservation organization founded by his grandmother, for “as long as he can remember,” he says. Now, working for the institute’s conservation science and communications team, Van Lawick’s involvement has grown over the last several years. That’s even more so now that his grandmother has passed, he tells Mongabay.
