Grethel Aguilar

Biography

Dr Grethel Aguilar, born in Costa Rica, was appointed Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in October 2023. Dr Aguilar brings with her thirty years of experience in conservation and sustainable development, having worked extensively on developing and applying environmental law and policy in collaboration with governments and civil society. She is deeply passionate about the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities and has pushed for the inclusion of their knowledge and experience in mainstream conservation policy. Through her work, Dr Aguilar has helped communities access clean water and land rights, advocated for environmental justice, promoted a “whole of society” approach to conservation, and championed gender equality in environmental governance. Most recently, she held the position of IUCN Deputy Director General, starting in 2021, and prior to this, IUCN Acting Director General (2019-2020) and Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (2005-2019). She served as the 2018 Dorothy S. McCluskey Visiting Fellow in Conservation at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and in 2001 received the title of Doctor of Law Outstanding cum laude from the University of Alicante, Spain.