Fanny CORNEJO

Fanny M. Cornejo is a Peruvian conservation biologist and anthropologist with over 18 years of experience in biodiversity research, protected area governance, and community-based conservation in the Tropical Andes. She is Co-founder and Executive Director of Yunkawasi Civil Association, which integrates science, policy, and sustainable development with Indigenous and campesino communities to advance long-term conservation.

Her leadership has contributed to the creation and management of more than 500,000 hectares of critical ecosystems, the establishment of community fire brigades, and the growth of women-led enterprises linking local economies to forest protection. She co-designed Achórate por el Mono Choro de Cola Amarilla, a national conservation campaign that mobilized municipalities, schools, and civil society and supported the approval of National Law 32100, a species-specific legal framework unique in the world for the Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey.

As a scientist, she co-authored the description of Cheracebus aquinoi (2022) and contributed to the discovery of the oldest known primate fossils in South America (2020). Beyond Yunkawasi, she serves as Vice President for Peru in the IUCN Primate Specialist Group and as a member of the CITES Expert Committee for Peru’s Ministry of the Environment. She is also an invited public speaker at global forums including the UN Biodiversity and Climate Change COPs, the IUCN World Conservation Congress, and TEDx.

Her contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally with the Emerging Conservationist Award of the Indianapolis Prize (2023), the Carlos Ponce del Prado Award, the Sabin Primate Conservation Prize, and Peru’s National Environmental Award “Antonio Brack Egg”. She was also included in Forbes’ 50 Most Powerful Women in Peru.

Fanny’s work highlights how conservation outcomes are strengthened when biodiversity protection is combined with equity, governance, and sustainable livelihoods.