IUCN Venezuela Biodiversity Inter-commission

Jon Paul Rodríguez has been working for the conservation of Venezuelan species and ecosystems since he was a biology undergraduate at Universidad Central of Venezuela (UCV) in the late eighties. With other students he co-founded Provita in 1987, an NGO that has championed numerous evidence-based projects, including several editions of the Red Book of the Venezuelan Fauna and of the Red Book of Terrestrial Ecosystems of Venezuela. After graduating from UCV in 1991 and spending two years working at Provita, he went to Princeton University for a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology (1999), and a Certificate on science, technology and environmental policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (2000). He is Professor at the Center for Ecology of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigations (Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas ― IVIC), continues to be active in Provita as the organization’s President, and since 2025 serves as Chief Conservation Officer at Global Humane Society. Between 2016 and 2025, he Chaired the IUCN Species Survival Commission, as the first SSC Chair that was not European or North American. Among his recognitions are: Member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences (2025), Wolfgang Kiessling International Prize for Species Conservation (2022), George B. Rabb Conservation Medal (2020), Whitley Fund for Nature Gold Award (2019), and Fundación Empresas Polar “Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury” Prize (2013). He defines himself as a biologist that is interested in generating information useful for informing conservation policies, without being a politician. Jon Paul is author in more than 280 publications, including books, chapters, and peer-reviewed articles in major international scientific journals.

Irene Zager is a Venezuelan biologist working for the conservation of species and ecosystems. She holds a Master's degree in Ecology from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research and a PhD from the Department of Geography at Rutgers University, USA. Her technical experience has focused on understanding and monitoring the patterns and processes of land use and land cover change through the use of Remote Sensors and Geographic Information Systems, assessing risks to species and ecosystems following IUCN’s standards as well as building capacities around these protocols; and promoting and building capacities for the mobilization of biodiversity data. She currently works as Director of Research in Provita, a Venezuelan NGO founded in 1987 that has championed numerous evidence-based projects, including several editions of the Red Book of the Venezuelan Fauna and of the Red Book of Terrestrial Ecosystems of Venezuela. Irene has been a member of CEM’s Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) thematic group since 2014, joining its Steering Committee in 2016. Over the past years, she has had the opportunity to get involved with different aspects of the RLE initiate, including the continental assessment of the forest ecosystems of the Americas, building capacities around the RLE protocol and its applications throughout the world, provide technical support for national and local RLE assessments and the development of the first IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology. Irene and her team at Provita also lead the development of the RLE Data Base and RLE communications through the website and social media. More recently, she also had the opportunity to coordinate a team of Venezuelan experts that contributed to IUCN’s Global Tree Assessment.

Experience in ecological research for the conservation of terrestrial ecosystems (Amazonian and montane forests), analysis of complex environmental problems, and characterization of natural areas. Skills in strengthening governance and territorial management, coordinating conservation initiatives, and building collaborative networks among young leaders at the national and international levels.