All over the world, forests are being cleared to make way for agriculture, often unsustainably and illegally. Together with the impact of climate change, this deforestation has led to a decline in the livelihoods of local communities. In many cases these forests are under the management of indigenous communities. Join representatives from WWF-Mexico, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship (IKEA-SE), Enuma, New Ventures and local communities to explore how community-led-enterprises have improved livelihoods biodiversity conservation in Mexico. We will discuss the potential to scale such projects and connect the local communities who lead them with new market opportunities.
Biodiversity and Finance Coordinator, World Wildlife Fund Mexico
With a career spanning the public and NGO sectors in Latin America, Lucía works for WWF Mexico as Coordinator for Biodiversity and Finance and has over ten years of work experience on biodiversity policy design and conservation finance. In her current position, she develops projects to empower local communities and help them thrive under sustainability frameworks.
She has collaborated with major international financial institutions to mobilize resources for biodiversity and protected areas using market-based tools and valuation of ecosystem services. In her previous position within Mexico’s government, Lucía was responsible for leading Mexico’s Protected Areas teams on conservation finance, private sector engagement, and consolidation of value chains, including efforts to scale-up local productive initiatives. Previously, she worked as an independent consultant exploring how to mainstream biodiversity into policy instruments and the development agenda in Latin America and Mexico. She began her professional career in Mexico’s rainforest, where she implemented Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes and developed local policies for rural land-use planning. She has closely worked with international organizations including GEF, UNDP, UNEP, GIZ, KfW and AFD.
Lucía is a biologist and holds a Master in Environmental Management from Yale University. She enjoys hiking in nature and this last year has re-discovered her passion for picnics at different urban parks in Mexico City.
Founder and CEO of Enûma, a Strategic impact consulting firm specialized in the development of impact driven projects. We develop social impact assessment, impact investment strategies, social risk assessment, ESG parameters and sustainable development projects.
A passionate communicator for social good. I have worked in public, private and the philanthropic sector for over 20 years using the power of communication to trigger a positive change.
I now lead the communications for IKEA Social Entrepreneurship.
My name is Blanca Sánchez, I am of Zapotec origin and was born in San Miguel Suchixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. I studied Rural Development Planning at Centro de Estudios para el Desarrllo Rural (CESDER), in Puebla, Mexico. I am the co-founder and President of Mbis Bin AC, a community conservation enterprise dedicated to the research, development and elaboration of agroecological products and provides trainings to promote sustainable agriculture. Mbis Bin AC is part of a conservation programme by IKEA Social Entrepreneurship which is developing a model to improve the livelihoods of rural communities through conservation and agroecological practices. This programme benefits 13 CEEs are mainly dedicated to agriculture and plant production for reforestation through agroecological practices that contribute to landscape restauration and freshwater conservation, including Mbis Bin. My organisation also plays a role in this programme by providing agroecology workshops to the CCEs involved.
Armando Laborde joined New Ventures in May 2016 as a Managing Partner, an organization dedicated to catalyzing businesses with social and environmental impact in Latin America. Armando was the Associate Vice President for Social Initiatives at the Tec de Monterrey. From 2006-2015, he served as Director of Ashoka Mexico, and for his last three years he was simultaneously co-director for Latin America. He has been strongly connected to the microfinance sector in Mexico, was the first Executive Director of ProMujer Mexico from 2002-2006 and was part of the founding team of Servicios Financieros Comunitarios (FinComun) from 1994-1999. Armando was involved with the fair trade movement from 2000-2002 through the Coffee Project of Conservation International that operated in the Biosphere Reserve of El Triunfo in Chiapas México; project that operated in partnership with important buyers such as Starbucks. He studied Biochemical Engineer at the Tec de Monterrey and holds an MBA from IPADE in Mexico.
