Martin Carstens

Consultant and Candidate Valuer

Nickname: No one has been able to come up with anything that could stick – as yet!

Age: 59

Qualifications: BIuris, BAdmin (Hons) (Mun Admin) M Admin (UNISA) DAdmin (Pret)

E-mail Address:

What I do every day... I’m involved in a diversity of interests (work!) ranging from placing values on primates in Gabon and advising on conservation policy – to consulting assignments for Government. As a candidate valuer, I specialise in advising clients on valuations that are less conventional such as biodiversity loss, heritage, and real rights. I am learning, however, to also do the mundane evaluations under the watchful eyes of formidable experienced valuers. I also consult on public management and administration – esoteric things like intergovernmental relations, policy-making, environmental law, development law and so on! My assistance to many of our private sector clients is to help them understand the public sector legislated gobbledy-gook – for our public sector clients however, I mostly help to untangle them from the myriad of laws and assist them to implement such.

And about me... I have not as yet caged myself into a professional career description such as a development management specialist, valuer, conservationist, etc, one simple reason being the multi-disciplinary nature of complex business solutions and developmental challenges. I have worked in so many fields in which I have not been professionally qualified, that I have had to make friends with experts to help me. My friends now include weird natural scientists, in especially biodiversity and the palaeo-sciences – the best in all academic fields and the “who’s who” in SA.

I’m new to living in Cape Town and explore the region on a very able yellow BMW motor cycle (1200 GS – for the earthlings who want to know more). My excursions are however mostly unaccompanied - my life-partner (Shirley) finds a helmet an “unpleasantly confined” feeling and all the protective riding gear makes her feel dressed up in armour and very unladylike!

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