Ernesto Herrera-Guerra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana, a Master’s in Environmental Management from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and a ...
CEESP Steering Committee Members
The CEESP Steering Committee is appointed according to the IUCN Statutes and Regulations and assists the Chair and Deputy Chair in guiding and coordinating the activities of the Commission.
Ernesto Herrera - Commission Chair
Ernesto Herrera-Guerra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana, a Master’s in Environmental Management from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and a diploma in Fundraising from Indiana University.
He began his professional career in the 1990s, working in both the public sector—at the Ministry of Communications and Transportation—and in the private sector, collaborating with companies in the plastic injection, refrigeration, and food industries. He later joined Grupo Bimbo’s Ecology Department, focusing on corporate environmental responsibility.
Since 2002, he has served as Executive Director of Reforestamos México, A.C., a civil society organization dedicated to promoting forest sustainability, environmental governance, and multi-sector alliances. Under his leadership, Reforestamos received the National Forestry Merit Award in 2009 and the Nature Conservation Recognition in 2018.
With over two decades of experience in environmental advocacy, Ernesto has played key roles within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), of which Reforestamos has been a member since 2008. He served as Chair of the IUCN National Committee of Mexico (2015–2018) and Chair of the Regional Committee for Mesoamerica (2019–2024). He has also participated actively in the IUCN Global Group to strengthen National and Regional Committees, where he contributed to establishing a task force to promote safe civic space and environmental participation. He co-founded IUCN’s Spanish-speaking forum ABCÑ, which fosters open dialogue among members and commission experts around the Union’s mission and work.
Dr Melanie ZURBA
Deputy Chair, Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy
Dr. Zurba’s has been a member of CEESP since 2011, and is the former Chair of the CEESP Theme for Governance, Equity, and Rights (TGER). She is also an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University in Canada where work focuses on projects that are developed and implemented in collaboration with communities on topics related to equity, reconciliation, wellbeing, and nature-culture connection. Dr. Zurba has contributed to IUCN policy through her leadership of the Intergens report, which was instrumental in directing the IUCN Youth Strategy 2022-2030. Her more recent work on IUCN policy is focused on the creation of equitable and meaningful spaces for Indigenous and local communities in global policy forums, as well as presenting research in support of the development of a formal truth and reconciliation process within IUCN.
Deputy Chair, Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy
Dr. Zurba’s has been a member of CEESP since 2011, and is the former Chair of the CEESP Theme for Governance, Equity, and Rights ...
Mrs Taryn SÁNCHEZ MONTESINOS
Executive Officer
Professional with 15+ years of experience in environmental policy, government relations, partnership development, and strategy formulation. Highly skilled in policy analysis, strategic planning, and project management. Proficient in leading complex, multi-layered collaborations to accomplish targets within expected deadlines and budget constraints. Articulate communicator adept at building solid relationships with stakeholders from government, civil society, and the legislative branch.
Executive Officer
Professional with 15+ years of experience in environmental policy, government relations, partnership development, and strategy formulation. Highly skilled in policy analysis ...
MS Jessica CAMPESE
Steering Committee Member
Jessica Campese is a conservation practitioner, researcher, and policy analyst with more than 15 years of experience working at the intersection of environmental governance, human rights, and biodiversity conservation. Her work has focused on strengthening equitable governance systems and advancing the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conservation decision-making processes at local, national, and global levels.
She has built a strong professional trajectory working with civil society organizations, international NGOs, and multilateral platforms, contributing to the design and implementation of approaches that integrate human rights, gender equity, and social justice into conservation policy and practice. Her work has consistently emphasized that effective conservation outcomes depend on legitimate, inclusive, and accountable governance systems.
Jessica has been closely associated with organizations such as the ICCA Consortium, where she has contributed to advancing the recognition and support of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ conserved territories and areas (ICCAs), as well as to strengthening governance vitality and community-led conservation. Through this work, she has helped bridge grassroots realities with global policy discussions, ensuring that local perspectives inform international conservation frameworks.
Within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), she has been an active contributor to the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), including serving as Co-Chair of the Natural Resource Governance Framework (NRGF). The NRGF is one of IUCN’s flagship analytical frameworks, designed to assess and strengthen governance quality in natural resource management. Through her leadership in this initiative, she has contributed to shaping global thinking on governance effectiveness, equity, legitimacy, and accountability in conservation.
Her work within IUCN has also included engagement in global policy dialogues and knowledge production processes, contributing to the development of guidance, tools, and analyses that inform conservation practice and decision-making across scales. She has participated in international fora, including the IUCN World Conservation Congress, and has contributed to advancing rights-based approaches within global conservation agendas.
Jessica Campese holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and has lived and worked in multiple regions, including the United States, Tanzania, and Switzerland. This diverse experience has allowed her to develop a strong comparative perspective on governance challenges and opportunities across different socio-political and ecological contexts.
Steering Committee Member
Jessica Campese is a conservation practitioner, researcher, and policy analyst with more than 15 years of experience working at the intersection of environmental governance ...
Dr Neil DAWSON
Steering Committee Member
Neil Dawson is a social scientist and conservation governance expert whose work focuses on the relationships between biodiversity conservation, human well-being, environmental justice, and sustainable livelihoods. His research and practice have consistently examined how conservation policies and interventions affect people, particularly Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and how more equitable and inclusive approaches can lead to better outcomes for both nature and society.
He has been affiliated with the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he has been a Research Fellow and part of the Global Environmental Justice Group. Through his academic work, he has contributed to advancing interdisciplinary research that connects ecological sustainability with social justice, governance systems, and development pathways. His research has been conducted across multiple regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America, providing him with a strong comparative perspective on conservation challenges and opportunities.
Neil Dawson has been actively engaged in global research and policy networks, including collaborations with organizations such as the Earth System Governance Project and other academic and policy platforms that explore the governance of environmental change. His work has contributed to key debates on trade-offs between conservation and development, the role of knowledge systems in shaping policy, and the need to center human well-being within conservation frameworks.
Within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), he has been an active member of the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), contributing to the development of knowledge and dialogue on governance, livelihoods, and justice in conservation. He has participated in multiple IUCN World Conservation Congresses and international discussions, helping to bring critical perspectives on equity, power, and knowledge systems into conservation debates.
His research has been widely published in leading academic journals and policy platforms, addressing topics such as protected area governance, environmental justice, agrarian change, and the social impacts of conservation and development policies. His work has been particularly influential in highlighting how conservation efforts can unintentionally reinforce inequalities if governance systems are not inclusive and accountable.
Neil Dawson brings to CEESP a strong analytical and critical perspective, combined with a commitment to ensuring that conservation contributes to human well-being and social justice. His work helps challenge conventional approaches and supports the development of more transformative, people-centered models of conservation.
Within CEESP, he will lead the Specialist Group on People-Centered Restoration, contributing to advancing restoration approaches that integrate social equity, livelihoods, and local knowledge systems, and helping to ensure that restoration efforts deliver both ecological and social benefits at scale.
Steering Committee Member
Neil Dawson is a social scientist and conservation governance expert whose work focuses on the relationships between biodiversity conservation, human well-being ...
Ms Fatima EL-AARABY
Steering Committee member
Fatima El-Aaraby is a Moroccan researcher, young leader, and UN biodiversity advocate pursuing a PhD on the distribution and conservation of terrestrial mammals in Morocco. She holds a Master’s degree in Ecology Engineering and Biodiversity Management, with extensive fieldwork experience at the local level. With more than 12 years of experience working with NGOs at local and global levels, she has actively and enthusiastically engaged youth worldwide and strengthened the capacities of girls through leadership and community-based initiatives. A very active and enthusiastic member within IUCN, Fatima combines a strong academic and research background with extensive knowledge and experience in global and local advocacy, especially on gender and youth issues. She has mobilized youth from different regions to participate meaningfully in the CBD processes and within IUCN structures. Fatima currently serves as a Project Officer with the CBD Women’s Caucus, working on communication, outreach, and coordinating initiatives and events that promote gender-responsive and inclusive biodiversity policies. She also works as a Research Assistant with CASCADE and serves as the Youth Regional Professional Focal Point for Africa within the IUCN CEESP Commission. Rooted in rural Morocco, her work bridges science, community perspectives, and global biodiversity negotiations.
Steering Committee member
Fatima El-Aaraby is a Moroccan researcher, young leader, and UN biodiversity advocate pursuing a PhD on the distribution and conservation of terrestrial mammals in Morocco ...
Mr. Luc BAS
Steering Committee Member
Luc Bas is a Belgian expert in environmental policy, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development, with extensive experience operating at the interface between science, public policy, and international environmental governance. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in shaping policy agendas in Europe and beyond, particularly in advancing the integration of biodiversity into broader economic, climate, and development frameworks.
He has built a distinguished trajectory within European and international institutions, combining technical expertise with strong strategic and political engagement. Luc Bas has been Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European Regional Office and Head of the IUCN Representation to the European Union in Brussels. In this role, he has been responsible for positioning IUCN as a key actor in European policy processes, engaging directly with EU institutions, Member States, and a wide range of stakeholders.
During his tenure, he has contributed to integrating biodiversity considerations into major European policy agendas, including climate change, agriculture, circular economy, and sustainable finance. He has been instrumental in advancing the role of nature-based solutions within EU strategies, helping to frame biodiversity not only as an environmental issue, but as a central component of economic resilience, climate adaptation, and societal well-being.
Within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Luc Bas has been actively involved in strengthening policy influence and fostering collaboration between the Secretariat, Members, and Commissions. His work has reflected a strong commitment to bridging knowledge and policy, ensuring that scientific evidence and field-based experience inform decision-making processes at the highest levels.
Beyond IUCN, he has held senior positions in organizations such as the European Environment Agency (EEA), where he has contributed to strengthening environmental governance, coordination, and strategic planning across Europe. He has also worked with The Climate Group, engaging with governments and the private sector to advance climate action and build coalitions for sustainable development.
Earlier in his career, he has advised both the Belgian Federal Government and the Flemish Government on international environmental and sustainable development policy, representing Belgium in multilateral forums such as the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)....
Steering Committee Member
Luc Bas is a Belgian expert in environmental policy, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development, with extensive experience operating at the interface between ...
MS MUNDILO, Veefeni Ingaveuya Priscilla
Steering Committee member
I have worked in Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme since 2016, championing conservation that is led by and benefits local communities. My work focuses on transferring agency, strengthening governance, and embedding environmental and social safeguards so that conservation delivers both environmental and social impact. My experience includes climate adaptation, management of natural resources, and building community conservation partnerships, always centering women, Indigenous People and Local Communities, and vulnerable people.
Steering Committee member
I have worked in Namibia’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme since 2016, championing conservation that is led by and benefits local communities. My ...
Ms Liza ZOGIB
Liza is Director of DiversEarth, an organization working at the interface of Nature, Culture and Spirituality and currently co-chair of CEESP's Theme on Culture, Spirituality and Conservation. She is a longtime explorer of the eastern arts of meditation, using body and breath to open the mind. She is a teacher of yoga and qigong, dancer of Bharata Natyam and practitioner of Shaolin arts. Liza also works on issues of culture, rights and justice as well as having a background in protected and conserved areas. She has over the years worked extensively on sacred sites, sacred species, culture & conservation, and convening interfaith dialogue.
Liza is Director of DiversEarth, an organization working at the interface of Nature, Culture and Spirituality and currently co-chair of CEESP's Theme on Culture, Spirituality and Conservation. She is ...
Mrs Mahnaz KADHEMI
Regional Vice Chair, West Asia
Mahnaz Kadhemi is a member of the Environmental Citizenship Program, one of Bahrain Women Association for Human Development’s programs. She joined IUCN in 2002. Professionally, she has held positions as the Personal Assistant for Top Executives in an Arbitration Centre and in different Offshore Banks, for the past 38 years. She studied at Concordia University, in Montreal, Canada and she is fluent in Arabic, English and Persian. She strongly believes that every human should live a life of purpose and serve to make this world a better place. She has come to realise her immense passion for ecology throughout her 38 years of being immersed in jobs that feel distant from connection with our Mother Earth. She realizes that influencing change in the way that people perceive nature and the ecosystem as a whole is a tedious process that requires addressing obstacles and challenges. With this in mind, she began her self-learning journey in everything relating to the ecosystem, engaging in intensive volunteer work--despite her job as a full-time employee and a mother--working within environmental project teams that won international awards and drawing strategies that address environmental issues on the local level, hand in hand with stakeholders and activists. She made it her life mission to change the way that people perceive and interact with the natural world--inspiring the circle of people around her and conveying the need to change behaviors and practices toward the planet until we fulfil everyone’s dream: a world where all creatures live in peace and harmony.
Regional Vice Chair, West Asia
Mahnaz Kadhemi is a member of the Environmental Citizenship Program, one of Bahrain Women Association for Human Development’s programs. She joined IUCN in 2002 ...
Ms Ana Julia GOMEZ
From the humid pampas, manager, educator, and strategic communicator passionate about conservation and inclusive development in a healthy environment. Extensive experience in implementing local development initiatives and scaling them up. Specialist in Human Rights and Gender.
Degree in Environmental Science Education, professional in the use, management, and control of natural resources, environmental interpreter guide, technician in protected area management, national park ranger. Participatory planning and management. Governance. Responsible for education and public use in various protected areas.
Representative of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) for the IUCN South American Committee and Regional Vice-President for Mesoamerica and South America of the CEC (2015-2019), current Regional Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CPAES). Member of the core group of managers of #MujeresEnConservación LAC (2019-2020). Coordinator of the Celebration of Protected and Conserved Areas LAC since 2020, mobilizing more than 8,600 people from 16 countries around the appreciation and contribution to effective conservation.
Teacher. Consultant for UNDP, IUCN, FAO, GIZ, and others.
From the humid pampas, manager, educator, and strategic communicator passionate about conservation and inclusive development in a healthy environment. Extensive experience in implementing local ...
Dr Ritu DHINGRA
Dr. Ritu Dhingra is a notable Environmental Law and Policy Consultant with over 30 years of expertise in environmental jurisprudence, botany, and sustainable development. Currently serving as the Regional Vice Chair for South and East Asia at the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) and Chair of the Faith, Spirituality and Nature specialist group, she is a leading advocate for the protection of biodiversity through deep legal research and policy analysis. As a Senior Research Associate with the PLANETSTEWARDS project at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Netherlands, her innovative research introduces novel ideas regarding the "Right to Dark Skies," treating Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) as a transboundary pollutant and ecological trespasser. While she contributes her extensive expertise to research and strategic analysis at the law firm Law Linkers and Company in Delhi, her work transcends traditional litigation to focus on the development of innovative policies and new legal regimes to mitigate biodiversity loss. A Ph.D. holder in Environmental Law and author of seven books, including Sacred Plants of India, Dr. Dhingra is driven by a lifelong commitment to academic growth, continually collaborating with prestigious global universities to expand her knowledge and spread sustainable, research-driven solutions worldwide.
Dr. Ritu Dhingra is a notable Environmental Law and Policy Consultant with over 30 years of expertise in environmental jurisprudence, botany, and sustainable development. Currently serving as the ...
Ms Amelia ARREGUIN PRADO
Amelia Arreguín Prado is the Regional Vice Chair for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean at IUCN CEESP. A specialist in gender justice, human rights, and environment, she has extensive experience in international and community development, with a focus on inclusive governance and equitable conservation.
Amelia currently serves as Project Officer at Forest Peoples Programme, working on the intersections of nature finance, biodiversity, and gender justice. She is also the Coordinator of the CBD Women’s Caucus, advocating for the integration of gender and human rights in global biodiversity policy.
She was formerly the CEESP Young Professional Focal Point for Meso and South America and has held leadership roles in civil society, including as Director of Eco Maxei AC and with the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN).
A Chevening Scholar, Amelia holds an MSc in Environment and International Development from the University of East Anglia. She is committed to building bridges across stakeholders, supporting knowledge production, and driving transformative change that empowers underrepresented communities and advances social and environmental justice.
📩 Contact: [email protected]
🎯 Member of CEESP, CEC and WCPA
Amelia Arreguín Prado is the Regional Vice Chair for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean at IUCN CEESP. A specialist in gender justice, human rights, and environment, she has extensive ...