Vice President; Executive Director, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Talk to me about: Payment for Ecosystems, Ecosystem Policy, Sustainable Development, Ecology, Adaptation
Location: U.S. - Washington
Languages: English, Spanish
contact me Patricia Zurita is a
Vice President with Conservation International and the Executive Director of
the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).
CEPF is a partnership
of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global
Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. CEPF has granted more than $151 million
to more than 1,700 grantees in 60 countries and territories around the world,
bringing direct socioeconomic benefits to at least 11,000 families residing in
biodiversity hotspots.
Prior to leading CEPF,
Patricia managed the Conservation Stewards Program in CI, which is dedicated to
the provision of incentives to local and indigenous communities in tropical
countries in exchange for their commitment to protect biodiversity.
Before that, Patricia was the Policy and Economics Director of CI’s Andes
Program, working on the development of economic initiatives and sound
policy making for the five Andean countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú
and Bolivia). An Ecuadorian national, Patricia holds a master’s degree in
environmental management and natural resource economics from Duke University,
and has worked with the Ecuadorian Park System, the World Bank and the World
Resources Institute.