Head of Natural Resources, Global Environment Facility
Gustavo Fonseca is the Head of Natural Resources at the Global Environment Facility, where he is responsible for overseeing a portfolio of investments in biodiversity, forests and REDD+, transboundary marine and freshwater conservation, and sustainable land management. A tenured professor of Zoology and Ecology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, he was the founder and first Executive Director of Center for Applied Biodiversity before becoming the Chief Conservation and Science Officer of Conservation International. He published close to 150 publications articles and books. Mr. Fonseca received the Oliver Austin Award of the University of Florida’s State Museum for outstanding research in the natural sciences, the Environmental Protection Award of Government of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Distinguished Service Recognition award from the Brazil Biodiversity Fund (Funbio), and the Golden Ark Award, an official order of the Dutch government, the highest conservation award of Netherlands. He holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies and a PhD in Forest Management and Conservation from the University of Florida.
