Key Speakers

Meet the Key Speakers of the IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress on Conservation Biology. Their extensive experience and contributions to conservation biology in the region have been remarkable, and they will share valuable insights that align with the congress's objectives.

Olivier Dangles

Olivier Dangles is a Professor of Sustainability Science at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), based at the Center for Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE) in Montpellier. His research, deeply rooted in an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability science, focuses on the response of biodiversity to global changes in both natural and human-influenced ecosystems, primarily in the tropical Andes. He has been an associate researcher at various foreign universities for 15 years and is currently based at the Pontificia  Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, where he co-directs WASILAB, an interdisciplinary center for sustainability sciences. His work has been featured in over 200 scientific publications, six books, and numerous scientific presentations. He has also participated in various international panels such as the IPCC and the Conference of the Parties for Climate and Biodiversity. 

Lecture Title: "Towards a Relational Turn in Conservation Biology" 

Blanca Ríos Touma

Blanca Ríos Touma studied biology at the Pontificia  Universidad Catolica del Ecuador. She earned her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Barcelona (UB) in Spain, specializing in tropical rivers, with an emphasis on their biodiversity and functioning, and the impact of human activities on them. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship on the functioning of high Andean tropical rivers in a collaborative project between UB and the University of San Francisco de Quito. Subsequently, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on the ecological effectiveness of restoring urban rivers and highly degraded landscapes. Her current research centers on biodiversity gradients in rivers, the impact of land use change on tropical rivers, and the restoration, conservation, and regeneration of riverine spaces. With 24 years of experience studying rivers, she has authored over 65 indexed publications and book chapters on biodiversity, ecology, and the environment, including the Andean Biotic Index, the most widely used biological quality index for Andean rivers. She is a professor of Ecology and a researcher at the University of the Americas, and a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Sciences. 

Lecture Title: "Biodiversity Gradients, Impacts, and Conservation of Rivers in the Tropical Andes" 

Iván Jácome-Negrete

Iván Jácome-Negrete is currently a full professor in the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Central University of Ecuador (UCE). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Education Sciences and he is a Doctor in Biology from the Central University of Ecuador. He also completed a Master’s degree in Biodiversity in Tropical Areas and its Conservation at Menéndez Pelayo International University in Spain. Since 2001, he has worked with Kichwa communities in the Curaray River basin (Pastaza province) on participatory projects related to territorial management and Amazonian wildlife biodiversity, grounded in local knowledge. His main areas of work are ethnozoology and the management of Amazonian aquatic resources. 

Lecture Title: “Kawsak Sacha: Conserving the Natural World and its Wildlife through Kichwa Amazonian Knowledge and Worldview” 

Alex Lucitante

Alex Lucitante, 31 years old, from the Kofan Avie Community, is an Indigenous leader of the A’i Kofan nationality, an activist in defense of Nature’s rights and ancestral territories, and a human rights defender. He is a 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize winner, often referred to as the “Green Nobel” for Central and South America. His leadership, alongside the Kofan Sinangoe community and organizations such as the Ceibo Alliance Foundation and Amazon Frontlines, has led to significant legal victories that establish jurisprudence recognizing rights violations by the Ecuadorian state and acknowledge the actions of the Indigenous Guard in exercising Sinangoe’s right to autonomy and self-determination. Alex was also recognized by the International Organization SACHAMAMA as one of the "100 Latinos 2022" most committed to defending Nature’s rights. Coming from a lineage of Yaje ancestral medicine practitioners, he respectfully conveys the message of life, seeking harmony and understanding of the importance of territory as a legacy from Kofan ancestors. 

Lecture Title: "Defending Territories in the Amazon from Indigenous Perspectives" 

Panels on Conservation Biology  LACA 2024

Next, we introduce the speakers for the panels on conservation. These panels will provide a space for the exchange of experiences and challenges among experts in conservation biology.

  • Panel on the Conservation of Ecuador’s Mammal Fauna 
Juan Pablo Reyes Puig

Juan Pablo Reyes Puig is a biologist graduated from the Central University of Ecuador, with two decades of work in herpetology, serving as an associate researcher at the National Institute of Biodiversity—formerly the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences. He has formally described more than 20 new species of amphibians and reptiles in the upper Pastaza River basin and northwestern Ecuador. Additionally, he has over 16 years of experience in the management and administration of protected areas with the Ecominga Foundation and the Oscar Efrén Reyes Foundation. He is a member of the IUCN Tapir Specialist Group. 

Lecture Title: "Participatory Conservation in the Upper Pastaza River Basin: Small Actions with High Impact for High Endemism Groups in Small Vertebrates" 

Sara Álvarez Solas

Sara Álvarez Solas is a biologist and a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior. She has over 15 years of experience in research and conservation projects focused on primates in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She has supervised more than 30 master’s theses and has over 20 scientific publications. Since 2014, she has been part of the teaching and research team at the Regional Amazonian University Ikiam (within the Biogeography and Spatial Ecology Research Group - BioGeoE2), where she currently leads the Veterinary Medicine and Wildlife Management program. She is the director of the Jane Goodall Institute Ecuador, a board member of the Spanish Primatological Association, the Ecuadorian Mammalogy Association, and vice president of the Ecuadorian Primate Study Group (GEPE). Her research focuses on developing in situ and ex situ mammal conservation strategies. 

Lecture Title: “Wildlife Management Strategies and their Application in Species Conservation” 

  • Panel on the Conservation of Ecuador’s Ichthyofauna and Herpetofauna 
Pedro Jiménez Prado

Pedro Jiménez Prado, an Ecuadorian by birth, studied Biology at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador de Ecuador and earned his Ph.D. from the Polytechnic School of Huesca at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. He has been a university professor for 20 years and currently works as a freshwater scientist for TNC Ecuador. His research in aquatic ecology, ichthyological biodiversity, and fisheries has resulted in numerous scientific and popular articles, as well as books that have contributed to the knowledge of the diversity and biology of both marine and freshwater fish in Ecuador. His current interest, linked to the freshwater conservation strategies of TNC Ecuador, is to generate the necessary knowledge to highlight the true dimension of ichthyological biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon, as well as its status and sustainable management and conservation prospects. 

Lecture Title: "The Biodiversity of Fish in Ecuador: Its True Dimension and Prospects for Management and Conservation" 

Juan Manuel Guayasamín

Juan Manuel Guayasamín is Vice Dean of Research and a full professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Ecuador. His interests include evolution, ecology, taxonomy, morphology, and conservation of Neotropical diversity, with an emphasis on amphibians and reptiles. He studies the factors that promote speciation in the Andes and Amazonia. He works on describing biodiversity and has described 7 genera and 64 species of amphibians and 15 reptiles. He also investigates the impact of introduced diseases and habitat fragmentation in tropical ecosystems, contributing scientifically to conservation biology. He collaborates in processes to enforce the rights of nature against extractive activities in Ecuador, primarily mining, using the country’s endemic and threatened species as arguments. He is a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Sciences, Atelopus Survival Initiative, Jambato Alliance, IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, and the Science Panel for the Amazon. He leads the Tandayapa Cloud Forest Station, a space dedicated to promoting research, education, and conservation in the Tropical Andes. 

Lecture Title: “Science Finally as an Ally of Conservation: The Case of Amphibians in Ecuador” 

  • Panel on the Conservation of Coastal Marine Ecosystems 
Lorena Caiza Morales 

Lorena Caiza Morales is a GIS specialist and feminist dedicated to developing remote sensing tools for monitoring disturbances in forest ecosystems, integrating machine learning methodologies with remote sensing data. Her work focuses on designing accessible solutions that optimize decision-making and the sustainable management of forests. Committed to collaboration and teamwork, Lorena fosters the formation of mapping groups and actively promotes the inclusion and empowerment of women in technology and data science. In collaboration with SERVIR-Amazonia, she developed MANGLEE, an advanced tool for mangrove monitoring. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Conservation and Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems at the University of Valladolid with the Cambium research group and collaborates with EcoCiencia on the SERVIR-Amazonia program. Lorena aspires to make significant contributions to science in Ecuador, strengthen environmental governance, and promote the empowerment of women and minority groups in science. 

Lecture Title: “Mangrove Monitoring Experience with MANGLEE: The State of Mangroves in Ecuador” 

Denis Mosquera Muñoz

Biologist specializing in the ecology and conservation of birds. He holds a Master's degree in Ecology from the University of Vienna and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology and Biotechnology at the University of Veracruz. Since 2010, he has been involved in various ecological and bird conservation projects, collaborating with the Charles Darwin Foundation and other institutions, both in the Galápagos Islands and on the Ecuadorian mainland. Currently, Denis is a professor at the University of Guayaquil. 

Lecture Title: "Reproductive Ecology of Birds in the Tumbesian Ecoregion"