IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Tim Badman joined IUCN as Special Adviser, World Heritage in August 2007. He was previously based in Dorset County Council (UK) as Environment Policy Manager. Between 2000-2006 he was the team leader of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, a role which included the supervision of the nomination process which culminated in inscription on the World Heritage List in 2001, and the subsequent development of the World Heritage programme for this site.

Email: tim.badman@iucn.org 

Cyril Kormos has two decades of experience working in international conservation. He is currently Vice-President for Policy at The WILD Foundation, where he covers a wide range of issues including wilderness law and policy, climate policy, conservation finance and biodiversity compensation and offsets. He also sits on the Executive Committee for the World Wilderness Congresses and serves as an associate editor for the International Journal of Wilderness and as a member of the editorial board for IUCN WCPA’s Parks journal. Prior to moving to WILD in 2002, Cyril was Director of Conservation International’s Policy Program, and then Senior Director for Program Management in the President’s Office at CI. Cyril holds a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.Sc. in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. He is based in Berkeley, California, U.S.A.

Mariam has a background in environmental planning with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and in ecological consultancy with field research experience in Indonesia (working on sustainable resource use patterns with the indigenous Kasepuhan in Gunung Halimun National Park) and Madagascar (researching dietary ecology of Diademed Sifaka lemurs). She has also held internships with the UN High Commission for Refugees and the UN Population Fund. Mariam also has a Masters in Ecological Management from Imperial College, London. She is a Swiss, Somali and American national and speaks fluent English and French, as well as some Spanish.

To contact Mariam mariam.ali@iucn.org

Christelle is a Swiss national from Valais and has a degree in tourism management. She has worked in tourism for a few years, both in Switzerland and abroad, including in Bristol, UK, and San Francisco, USA. Upon arrival in the région lémanique, Christelle joined Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals as a marketing specialist, where she stayed for almost 5 years.

She left the company to pursue a long time dream - a humanitarian mission in Kenya working with a local NGO on projects related to health, education, as well as access to food and clean water. Prior to joining IUCN, Christelle worked with Alcon Pharmaceutical company as a marketing specialist and finance assistant for just over a year. 

Email: christelle.perruchoud@iucn.org

Remco is a Dutch national, but was born in Luxembourg, where he lived until he graduated from high school. At 16, he went on a life-defining holiday around southern Africa, which convinced him to pursue a career in nature conservation. He studied Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Management in the Netherlands, Indonesia and the UK, and graduated in 2008 on the subject of ecological and social aspects of large mammal reintroductions, with the Javan Rhino in Ujung Kulon National Park (Indonesia) as a case study. After his studies, he worked as a volunteer for the Asian Rhino Foundation, mainly on raising the Dutch public’s awareness of the threats to rhinos in Asia. He has also done some work as a reviewer for Pachyderm, which is the journal of the IUCN SSC African Rhino, African Elephant and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups.

Remco joined IUCN in September 2010 as Junior Professional, World Heritage Monitoring, during which time he gained first hand knowledge of World Heritage monitoring processes and experienced the challenges for the conservation of some of the worlds outstanding natural areas. He is eager to continue his work for the World Heritage Programme in his new position of Monitoring Officer, and is looking forward to contribute further to the conservation of the World’s Natural Heritage.

Email: remco.vanmerm@iucn.org

Elena joined the World Heritage team as Junior Professional in August 2012. Elena is a Russian national and holds a degree in Ecology and a Candidate of Biological Sciences Degree (Russian equivalent of PhD). She has also recently completed a MSc in Sustainable Resource Management at the Technical University of Munich with a thesis on transboundary protected areas in Europe. The main case study for her thesis was Oulanka-Paanajärvi TBPA in Finland/Russia where she spent two months as an intern helping develop a transboundary management plan and a joint sustainable tourism development strategy. In 2011-2012 Elena was also working for the EUROPARC Federation, first as an intern and then in a part-time position of project assistant. Elena also holds a degree in translation and speaks several languages, including Russian, English, German, Spanish, Italian, French and some Portuguese.

Email: elena.osipova@iucn.org

GIS Analyst

Yichuan joined the World Heritage Programme as GIS Analyst in May 2011, based at the UNEP-WCMC Office in Cambridge, UK. He maintains and improves the natural World Heritage spatial data in the World Database on Protected Area (WDPA). His work also involves developing data analysis solutions and cartographic products for various reports and research projects. Prior to this role, he worked for IUCN’s Global Species Programme, providing mapping support for the Red List of Threatened Species. Yichuan holds a BSc from Zhejiang University and an Mphil in GIS and Remote Sensing from the University of Cambridge. He is a Chinese national and enjoys nature and photography.

Email: yichuan.shi@iucn.org 

Project Finance Officer

John works in the Global Finance Group at IUCN as part of the Budget and Financial Planning  team. He leads financial and project reporting for IUCN’s work on World Heritage. John has previous finance administration experience in various for-profit firms and non-profit organizations. He is currently based in Switzerland and has worked in Kenya, Vanuatu and India. He holds an International Organizations MBA from the University of Geneva.

Email: john.karuri@iucn.org 

Célia joined the World Heritage Programme in April 2013 to work specifically on the State of World Heritage website and report. Her role involves overseeing the website design and user experience to ensure dissemination and usefulness among the conservation community and beyond. She previously held the position of Communications Officer for the 2012 World Conservation Congress, IUCN’s four-yearly landmark event. Célia worked several years as an editor in the press sector and has since successfully transferred her skills to online communications. A Swiss-French national, she acquired fluency in English while studying and working in Dublin, Ireland for 12 years. She can also speak Italian.

Email: celia.zwahlen@iucn.org