Gonzalo Castro de la Mata

Gonzalo Castro de la Mata (full name Gonzalo Castro de la Mata Valdivia) is a Peruvian ecologist born in 1961 in Lima, Peru. He is recognized as a global leader in the promotion of sustainability with emphasis on innovative free market solutions to environmental issues.[1][2][3]

Gonzalo Castro de la Mata
Born
Gonzalo Castro de la Mata Valdivia

Lima, Peru
OccupationEcologist

Education

Castro de la Mata received a Ph.D. in Ecology and Population Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, and M.Sc. (1985) in Biophysics and B.Sc. (1983) in Biology degrees from Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru.[4]

Career

In his early career, Castro de la Mata published widely on the ecology and energetics of long distance migration, with emphasis on migratory shorebirds. Some seminal papers include "Assimilation Efficiency of Sanderlings (Calidris alba) Feeding on Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) Eggs"[5] and "Ecology and Energetics of Sandlerlings Migrating to Four Latitudes".[6]

He is the founder of Ecosystem Services LLC, a company that generates carbon offsets through avoiding deforestation of the Amazon rainforest (REDD).[7][8] Previously, he was the Managing Director of Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM) for the Americas, where he was responsible for seminal investments that generated the first carbon credits from native plantations and forest conservation. He has been the Head of Biodiversity at the Global Environment Facility, the largest source of funds to address global environmental challenges, and a Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. He was also Director and Vice-President of WWF’s Latin American and Caribbean Program in Washington, and founder and CEO of Wetlands for the Americas.

In 2013, he was one of the two high-level independent international experts engaged by the United Nations to assess the social end ecological impacts of the Barro Blanco Dam in Panama, which found serious consultation deficiencies in indigenous communities.[9]

In December 2013 he was selected as a Member of the World Bank's Inspection Panel and in November 2014 became its eleventh chairman[10], a position he held until 2018.

Other work and recognition

Castro de la Mata has been involved in the founding of leading international conservation organizations, including Wetlands for the Americas (today Wetlands International), and American Bird Conservancy, where he served as a board member for six years.[11]

He has served as chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Development Issues in South-Central Peru,[12] as well as president of various companies and a member of the Supervisory Council of Wetlands International.

He has appeared in numerous publications in topics related to ecology, environment, mining, and development, and is a regular editorial contributor[13] to El Comercio in Lima, Peru and Diario Altavoz.[14]

in 2014, he was awarded the Prize "Peruanos al Bicentenario" (Bicentennial Prize) by Diario El Comercio in the Environmental Category for his essay "Pais de Leyenda".[15]

Personal life

He is the son of Ramiro Castro de la Mata y Caamaño and Elsa Valdivia Vargas.

Selected books and publications

References
  1. Castro de la Mata, Gonzalo (June 11, 2012). "Propiedad Privada y Manejo Forestal". El Comercio, Lima Peru.
  2. Tegel, Simon (February 1, 2012). "REDD: The Amazon Carbon Cowboys". Global Post. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  3. De La Puente, Lorenzo. "Conservacion y Propiedad". El Derecho no Basta. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  4. "Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata | Inspection Panel". www.inspectionpanel.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  5. "Assimilation Efficiency of Sanderlings (Calidris alba) Feeding on Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) Eggs"
  6. "Ecology and Energetics of Sandlerlings Migrating to Four Latitudes"
  7. "Peruvians Hope Nested Approach Today Will Halt Deforestation Tomorrow". Ecosystem Marketplace. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  8. Burger, Andrew (August 13, 2009). "International Group Garners First Voluntary Carbon Offsets for Reforesting Peruvian Amazon with Native Species". Global Warming is Real. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2013-09-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Lists/PanelMember/MeetthePanelDisp.aspx?ID=30&Source=/apps/ip/Pages/MeetthePanel.aspx
  11. Harrison, Craig S.; Eccles, Stephen D.; Senner, Stanley E.; Lenhart, Cynthia (2017). "Origins of the American Bird Conservancy: Conservation Institution-Building is difficult and unpredictable". Marine Ornithology. 45: 67–71.
  12. "Ex-Im Bank establishes advisory panel on impact of south central Peru development". Andina Agencia de Noticias. May 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  13. Castro de la Mata, Gonzalo. "Ecologismo Racional". Diario El Comercio. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  14. http://altavoz.pe/columnista/?c=44
  15. "Pais de Leyenda"
  16. Castro de la Mata, Gonzalo (2005). Un Mendigo Sentado en un Banco de Oro: Reflexiones Sobre Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente en el Peru. Lima, Peru: Wust Ediciones. ISBN 9972-9094-8-4.
  17. Castro de la Mata, Gonzalo (2011). Seeking Opportunities from New Patterns in Global Trade. Washington, DC: Inter American Development Bank.
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