All Speakers

Speaker Katie Lee RIDDLE
Katie Lee RIDDLE

Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust

KatieLee (Rongowhakaata), specialises in Māori and Indigenous Intellectual Property, Digital Sequence Information (DSI), use of genetic resources, benefit sharing and Indigenous Data Sovereignty...
Speaker Tinne VAN DER STRAETEN
Tinne VAN DER STRAETEN

Member of Parliament

Belgian Federal Parliament

Tinne Van der Straeten is a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament. She served as Federal Energy Minister between October 2020 and January 2025.  During her term, she accelerated the energy...
Speaker Margaret Otieno
Margaret Otieno

National Coordinator

Wildlife Clubs of Kenya

Deputy Chair Dr Margaret Otieno is the CEO/National Coordinator of Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, a national NGO targeting the youth and communities with Conservation Education. Margaret is also a board...
Speaker Lorena Arce
Lorena Arce

Program Coordinator

Observatorio Ciudadano

Lorena Arce Letelier is coordinator of the Biodiversity and Development Alternatives Program at the Observatorio Ciudadano in Chile. She is also member of Council in the ICCA Consortium and president...
Speaker Gaetan Quesne
Gaetan Quesne

Consultant

Baastel

I’m passionate about the intersection of conservation, forests, and sustainable development. For over 15 years, I’ve worked across Africa, the Mediterranean, and Latin and Central America, leading...
Speaker Tazarf Shamirova
Tazarf Shamirova

Conservation Officer

Tajikistan Nature Foundation

I am Tazarf Shamirova, a dedicated conservation practitioner with a background in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Since 2023, I have been actively involved in wildlife conservation and sustainable...
Speaker Duc Hieu BUI
Duc Hieu BUI

Deputy Director General - ICD

Ministry of Agriculture and Environment

Dr. Bui Duc Hieu is an expert in environmental health and climate change, currently serving as Deputy Head of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture and...
Speaker Joyce Nyaruai MBATARU
Joyce Nyaruai MBATARU

Communication Manager

Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association

Joyce Mbataru is a communication for development specialist with over 15 years of experience in community-led conservation, gender, youth, and media development in Kenya. She serves as the...
Speaker Najoua BOURAOUI
Najoua BOURAOUI

Présidente

Association pour la Protection de l'Environnement et le Développement Durable de Bizerte (APEDDUB

Dr Najoua Bouraoui is an ophthalmologist from Tunisia and Chief of department of ophthalmology in the hospital of Bizerte. She is currently the President of the Association for the Protection of the...
Speaker Suman GHIMIRE
Suman GHIMIRE

Founder and CEO

PlantSat by Seed Innovations Pvt. Ltd.

I am an agri-insurtech entrepreneur who started his journey in 2019 with a mission to protect South Asian farmers, starting from Nepal, from both agriculture and climate risks. My startup harnesses...
Speaker Tafita Tsitohaina RANDRIANARISON
Tafita Tsitohaina RANDRIANARISON

Student

Centre for Global Education

Speaker Francis Akatsa OKALO
Francis Akatsa OKALO

Programme Manager, Coastal and Ocean Resilience-Ke

IUCN Secretariat

Francis is marine conservation scientist with over 9 years of experience in management and conservation of coastal and marine resources. His experience cuts across phycology and fisheries research,...
Speaker Christine Mentzel
Christine Mentzel

Senior Programme Officer

IUCN ESARO

Christine has a background in Zoology and a Masters Degree in African Mammalogy from the University of Pretoria. After a detour into the corporate sector, she began her conservation career in the...
Speaker Magdalyne WERE
Magdalyne WERE

Regional Gender Coordinator and Blue Economy Lead

Mission Inclusion

Magdalyne Were is a Gender and Development Specialist with over eight years of experience leading international development and humanitarian projects across East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean...
Speaker Ahmed LEFGHIH
Ahmed LEFGHIH

Executive Director

Fonds Fiduciaire pour le Banc d’Arguin et la Biodiversité Côtière et Marine

Economist, public finance specialist, sustainable finance expert
Speaker Marc Vilahur
Marc Vilahur

DG for Environmental Policies and Natural Heritage

Departamento de Territorio, Vivienda y Transición Ecológica, Generalitat de Catalunya

Environmental scientist specialized in natural area management and green economy. Pioneer of the land stewardship movement and the development of land stewardship economy. Cofounder, board member,...
Speaker Dao NGUYEN
Dao NGUYEN

Senior Programme Manager, Conservation Action

IUCN Secretariat

Dao is from Vietnam. She has 20 years of experience at local and regional levels in Asia, Africa and Oceania, as well as globally through international policy advocacy work. Between 2012 and early...
Speaker Samuel Geller
Samuel Geller

Senior Protected and Conserved Areas Advisor

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Samuel Geller is a Senior Protected and Conserved Areas Advisor for Environment Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Canadian Wildlife Service. In his role, Sam leads an ECCC Screening Task Team...
Speaker Pedro LIRA
Pedro LIRA

Natureza Urbana

Founding partner of Natureza Urbana. Architect and Urban Planner, studied at the Polytechnic of Milan (Italy), graduated from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE-Brazil) and has an Advanced...
Speaker Paola MEJÍA
Paola MEJÍA

MSc Ciencias Ambientales

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas 2021-2025

Thematic Vice Chair, Conservation Outcomes. With more than 20 years of experience in Protected Areas and other area-based conservation measures in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa,...
Speaker Raúl Jiménez Rosenberg
Raúl Jiménez Rosenberg

Secretario Ejecutivo

Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

Speaker Olivier HABIMANA
Olivier HABIMANA

Regional Programme Delivery Manager, GEF/GCF

IUCN

Olivier Habimana is an experienced program manager and agro-ecological economist with expertise in climate resilience, market systems development, sustainable finance, private sector development and...
Speaker Mariam ALRASHDI
Mariam ALRASHDI

Senior Officer Environment

Alainzoo

Speaker Wendy Yap
Wendy Yap

Director, International Biodiversity Conservation

National Parks Board, Singapore

Wendy Yap is the Director for International Biodiversity Conservation at the National Parks Board of Singapore. She oversees regional and global cooperation on nature conservation and biodiversity,...
Speaker Jessica FìOR-BERRY
Jessica FìOR-BERRY

Policy Lead

IUCN UK Peatland Programme

I am the Policy Lead at the IUCN UK Peatland Programme. I have a PhD from the University of Leeds (supervised by Prof. Joseph Holden and Dr. Richard Grayson), where I studied the impacts of track...
Speaker Simba MANDOTA
Simba MANDOTA

Team Leader/ Acting Country Representative

IUCN Secretariat

Simba currently holds the position of Team Leader for the IKI funded CBA SCALE southern Africa+ project, where he has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and a deep understanding of the unique...
ELISA FURLAN
ELISA FURLAN