BIOPAMA contacts
Pedro Rosabal
BIOPAMA Technical and Policy Advisor
Pedro played a key role in the design and negotiation of the BIOPAMA Programme and therefore he provides technical and policy advice for BIOPAMA’s overall implementation. He also provides guidance and review on technical and communications products and activities and facilitate liaison with the work of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and UNEP-WCMC as it relates to BIOPAMA.
Pedro has a background of physical geography, climatology and landscape planning and management and has 30 years experience on protected areas issues. He joined IUCN in 1994. His work for GPAP includes preparing technical documents and assessments, support and networking with the World Commission on Protected Areas, project coordination and management, project development and negotiation, as well as technical and policy input to support the work of the IUC World Heritage Programme. the UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention. His regional experience in IUCN covers Latin America and the Caribbean, North Africa and the Middle East, North Eurasia and the Pacific.
He is member of the IUCN/World Heritage Panel and the International Council of Experts of the Institute for Responsible Tourism.
Jordi Surkin
BIOPAMA interim project manager
Jordi is ad-interim Project Manager for the BIOPAMA programme.
In 2010, he began as a project officer for the IUCN Social Policy unit, focusing on building capacity for natural resource governance. He brings in-depth experience with socio-cultural aspects of conservation. He has worked with IUCN offices and members in Africa, South America, Middle East and South Asia.
Jordi has worked with NGOs, governments and indigenous organizations in the Tropical Andean Region, on policy, protected area planning, landscape conservation, governance and communities.
Jordi was born in New York City and has a Catalan background. He has a Doctorate in International Environmental Planning from UCLA.
Christine Mentzel
BIOPAMA focal point for East and South Africa
Christine Mentzel joined IUCN in October 2012 as the focal point for the BIOPAMA programme of the ESARO region. She is based in the South Africa Country Office in Pretoria.
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 Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in 2003, working with the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
During her time in Tanzania, she also worked as a lecturer in Wildlife Management as well as running a multinational research project on carnivore diseases. In early 2007, Christine joined the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a South African Conservation NGO working across the ESA region, as Conservation Manager, where she was responsible for the strategic planning of the EWT’s conservation activities and development of new projects, as well as supporting the implementation of projects within the various programmes.
Career Highlights include project managing the development of an Endangered Species Policy, Strategy and Action Plan for the Government of Botswana as well as the mentoring of various Tanzanian students while working in Tanzania, both at the University and in the Serengeti.
Béatrice Chataigner
BIOPAMA focal point for West and Central Africa
Béatrice joined the protected areas programme for West and Central Africa of IUCN in November 2012 as senior program officer responsible for the BIOPAMA programme in the West and Central African region. She is based in Dakar (Senegal).
As a veterinarian, Beatrice first focused her work experiences on various veterinarian issues linked with sustainable development trough different type of institutions: NGO (Veterinary without Border), research centers (Pasteur Institute of Dakar and the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD)) and governmental institutions at national or regional level (French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
Then she managed to join the world of conservation by working at IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) from 2009 as a programme officer for the Protected Area Programme where she was in charge of a project on management effectiveness of protected areas. She developed several capacity building programs, as well as various studies. While organizing numerous workshops and training courses, she built a wide network of professionals involved in protected area management covering West and Central Africa.
José Courrau
BIOPAMA focal point for the Caribeean
In the implementation of BIOPAMA, Jose will take advantage of his familiarity with the environmental context in the Caribbean to work together with programme partners to maximize the impact of BIOPAMA in the region.
José holds a doctor in Natural Resources and a Master in Protected Areas. He has 26 years of experience in different issues related to biodiversity conservation and management in different parts of the world. José has held different positions at local, national, regional, and global levels. He has worked with national governments, international NGOs, universities and as an independent consultant. He has also provided support to different countries in the Caribbean on the implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) and has supported national and international conservation NGOs working in the region.
Jamie Kemsey
BIOPAMA communications lead
Jamie is based in the Asia Regional Office, in Bangkok, Thailand. As the Global Protected Areas Programme's Regional Communications Network Manager, he is responsible for leading communications on the BIOPAMA programme.
Before joining IUCN, Jamie worked for the WWF Tigers Alive Initiative. His extensive experience covers countries in Africa and Asia, including communications work for the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. He has extensive biodiversity conservation knowledge at all levels as well as many other skills, including professional writing and editing and project development. A US citizen, Jamie speaks English, French and Bahasa Indonesia, and holds university degrees in Communications and International Environmental Policy.
Roxana Bucioaca
BIOPAMA Liaison and Communications Assistant
Roxana’s role is to ensure effective coordination, communication and liaison between the Programme and the European Commission, the EU Members States associated to the project, as well as with the ACP Secretariat and other stakeholders in Europe. She also supports the general programme communications and the internal communication with the IUCN regions participating in the programme and partners.
Roxana joined IUCN in March 2011. She is Romanian and has an academic background in Communication and Public Relations, Political Sciences and European Affairs. In her previous working experience in several youth organizations, she coordinated national programmes implementation and liaised with European Union’s institutions (Parliament, Commission and External Action Service) and other organizations in Europe.
