Gustavo Fonseca

About Gustavo Fonseca

Dr. Fonseca is the Director of Programs at the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the largest independent funding mechanism supporting the global commons, housed at the World Bank and serving 155 countries. Responsibilities include overseeing the portfolio of investments totaling $1 billion/year in biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, forests and REDD+, transboundary marine and freshwater conservation, chemicals and sustainable land management. A tenured Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, he was the first Executive Director of Center for Applied Biodiversity before becaming the Chief Conservation and Science Officer of Conservation International. He holds a Master\'s degree in Latin American Studies and a Ph.D. in Forest Management and Conservation from the University of Florida. He published close to 150 publications articles and books, including 15 times in Science, four times in Nature, and twice in PNAS. He received the Oliver Austin Award of the University of Florida’s State Museum for outstanding research in the natural sciences, the Environmental Protection Award of Government of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Distinguished Service Recognition award from the Brazil Biodiversity Fund (Funbio), and the Golden Ark Award, an official order of the Dutch government, the highest environment award of the Netherlands. Recently he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Florida.

Experience

1. Director of Programs

   Global Environment Facility

   Jul 2014 — Present · Washington, DC, US

Education

• Universidade de Brasília

  Bachelors

  1973 — 1978

• University of Florida

  MA

  1982 — 1983

• University of Florida

  Ph.D.

  1983 — 1988

Skills

• Marine Biology
• Biodiversity
• Environmental Management Systems
• Mitigation
• Sustainable Development
• Capacity Building
• Climate Change
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Natural Resources
• Policy Analysis
• Gis
• International Development
• Ecology
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Research
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Environmental Economics
• Renewable Energy
• Forestry
• International Relations
• Remote Sensing
• Ecosystem Services
• Redd
• Energy Policy
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Science
• Environmental Policy
• Sustainability
• Conservation Issues
• Environmental
• Forest Management
• Natural Resource Management
• Ngos
• Field Work
• Environmental Education
• Nature Conservation
• Wildlife
• Environmental Science
• Public Policy
• Environmental Issues