Grupo de especialistas en corales de la CSE de la UICN

David Obura is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, chairs the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2023-2026) and is on the Earth Commission (2019-2026). CORDIO is a knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean.

David’s primary research has been on coral reef resilience, biogeography and climate change impacts. His interests are turning now towards sustainability science pivoting around coastal, African and societal needs and priorities, in the broader sustainable development paradigm. David works from the local scale, through fostering innovative action to promote sustainability, through regional scale alignment and integration, to global scales.

David was a Co-Chair of IPBES’s Nexus Assessment and was active in compiling science inputs into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. David was awarded Kenya’s national honour, Moran of the Burning Spear in December 2021, and the Coral Reef Conservation Award of the International Coral Reef Society in 2022.

Francoise is a Marine Ecologist from Venezuela, working in the interface between academia, policy and applied science. She is interested in improving the way we assess and monitor biodiversity, especially rare, threatened species within a management framework that incorporates socio-ecological systems.

Francoise was born in Venezuela, where she obtained  a Licenciatura in Marine Biology, a MS in Experimental Ecology, completing a Doctorate programme focused on  conservation and management. Throughout her career, Francoise has been always committed to training the next generation of marine scientists and conservation leaders.