IUCN - The World Conversation Union

Juan Marco Álvarez, El Salvador, is Executive Director of SalvaNATURA which is considered to be one of the leading environmental NGOs in El Salvador and Meso America and which is recognized for its work in the management of natural areas, certification of sustainable agriculture and projects for the management of river basins and water. He has more than 15 years of full time involvement with nature conservation and sustainable development, wide experience in fundraising and knows many of the actors and leaders from the NGO sector and the private sector in Latin America. He is a member of the recently established National Council for Environment –CONAMA, which advises the authorities at the Ministry of Environment in El Salvador. He holds a Master’s degree in business administration from INCAE, Costa Rica 1995, and speaks, writes and reads English fluently and has published two books: Una Década de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible: Escritos para impulsar un mejor futuro, and Lecciones en Recaudación de fondos para ONG – El caso de SalvaNATURA. He is also a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

Cláudio Maretti, Brazil is the Coordinator for the Protected Areas Programme at WWF-Brazil, (an IUCN NGO member). He has worked in environmental management/nature conservation and sustainable development, for more than 20 years, his principal areas of expertise being regional planning, protected areas management and community based land management. He has held management positions in governmental agencies, played an active role in non-governmental organizations – as much in voluntary activities with local NGOs, as with long term work for larger organizations, and continues to work for international organizations including multilateral government bodies. Specific highlights of his career include his work with the Brazilian and São Paulo Coastal Management Programmes, his dedication to the sustainable development of the Ribeira Valley Region and especially his work with the Secretariat for the Environment of the State of São Paulo. He has been Director of the Foundation for Conservation and Forestry Production in the State of São Paulo and Coordinator of Management Plans for Protected Areas for the Forestry Institute (Instituto Florestal) of the same State. He holds a Master's degree (M.Sc.) in regional environmental planning and a PhD with a focus on community-based land management in areas of interest to conservation.

Silvia Sánchez, Peru, is a biologist with 20 years experience in the conservation of biological diversity. She is cofounder of APECO (a Peruvian NGO member of IUCN, dedicated to the conservation of biological diversity); Coordinator of the Peruvian National Committee for IUCN as representative of APECO and a member of IUCN’s Commission on Education and Communication. Silvia’s professional career has included: experience in working with communities located in the buffer zones of protected areas, on processes for the management of biodiversity and the protection of ecosystems; broad experience with long and short-term strategies in the field of environmental education and communication; experience in negotiations for the preparation and approval of Peru's National Biodiversity Strategy; international consultant in Latin America for the establishment of processes for formulating national biodiversity strategies in several countries; and broad participation in IUCN activities and the functioning of the Peruvian Committee for IUCN. She has been elected to a second term as Regional Councillor for Meso and South America (2005-2008) and serves as Chair of the Council’s Membership Committee.