BIOFIN Team

Onno is Head of the Biodiversity Finance Portfolio at UNDP – based at the UNDP Representation Office in Brussels. He oversees biodiversity financing at UNDP and the work of BIOFIN, including programme development, resource mobilisation and partnerships. Previously, he was UNDP Biodiversity Programme Officer and Environment Team Leader in Mongolia for four years, where he was responsible for protected area financing, community-based conservation and environmental policy. He also worked in Mongolia as a policy expert for the establishment of a Clean Air Fund and for four years in Kenya at UN-HABITAT’s regional office for Africa and the Arab States. Onno holds a Master's degree in Economic Geography from Utrecht University.

Marco is a member of the BIOFIN global management and the technical team, working on the project management, the programme’s resource mobilization, knowledge management, communication and supporting the development of the BIOFIN Methodology. Before joining the UNDP, Marco worked in the banking sector in the research department focusing on risk diversification in portfolios. He later changed his specialization to work on Environmental Finance and project management. He holds three Masters degrees in Finance, Quantitative Economics and Environmental, Energy and Sustainable Development Economics.

Luzmila is the BIOFIN Analyst, providing analytical, budget management and operational support to BIOFIN. She has over 23 years of professional experience in the UN System in finance, operations and project management.

Before joining BIOFIN she worked for 6 years supporting the global portfolio of various technical team in the Natural Climate and Energy Team, including Ecosystems and Biodiversity Team. Prior to her work in UNDP, she provided budgetary and financial support to various UN Secretariat projects and programmes.

She holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from The New School University in New York, and a BS in Accounting from Externado de Colombia University in Colombia.

MS. ANNABELLE “Abbie” TRINIDAD is Senior Technical Advisor for BIOFIN handling the Philippines, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Indonesia. She has more than two decades of work experience in environmental economics, sustainable financing, and policy and institutional analysis, mainly in the fisheries and coastal sectors. Abbie has written a number of papers on fisheries policy and economics, including peer-reviewed materials and co-authored a book entitled “Values of Philippine Coastal Resources: Why Protection and Management are Critical”. She has worked with major donor agencies Abbie has an undergraduate degree in Statistics and a masteral degree in Applied Business Economics.

Andy’s role in BIOFIN includes national technical support to Belize, Brazil, Fiji, Malaysia and Ecuador, and global technical support in economic valuation, finance and policy analysis. He has been Professor & Public Policy Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University since 1997.  From 2009-12, he was Head, Global Economics Programme, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based in Switzerland.  Dr. Seidl holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida, USA.

Hervé is a Technical Adviser for Central Asia and East Africa covering Zambia, Madagascar, Seychelles, Uganda, Kygyzstan, Malawi and Tanzania. He is a senior consultant in environmental finance with more than 20 years of  professional experience in the Eastern Southern African, Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia region in the field of sustainable resources management, biodiversity conservation and climate change (mitigation and adaptation). In Addition, he has project identification and formulation working experiences with different organisations such as Global Environment Facility, European Union, Global Mechanism, UNDP, UNCDF, Global Climate Change Alliance, Green Climate Fund.

Tracey is a Technical Advisor with BIOFIN, working specifically with countries in Africa and Asia. She is also a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Panel of Experts on Resource Mobilisation, tasked with developing a draft framework for resource mobilisation for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Tracey holds a BSc in Economics and Environmental Science, and an MSc in Environmental Science. Tracey has extensive experience in biodiversity finance and policy at a national and international level, and led BIOFIN in South Africa before joining the global BIOFIN team in 2017. She has led and collaborated on numerous publications, including on biodiversity finance, ecological infrastructure, protected area finance, mainstreaming biodiversity and biodiversity offsets.

Mariana is a BIOFIN Technical Adviser providing support to Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, Chile, Peru and Mexico. She has over 18 years of experience working on biodiversity policy and finance issues. She was formerly National Coordinator for BIOFIN Mexico and worked for several environmental agencies in the Mexican Government. She has extensive experience on a wide range of issues related to biodiversity conservation, protected area finance, ecosystem services, ecosystem-based adaptation, and has closely worked with international organisations such as UNDP, WB, GEF, GIZ, KFW and AFD. Mariana holds a Maste´s Degree on Environmental Policy and Development Studies from the University of Sussex. She is based in Mexico City.

Gaurav is the Nature Investment Advisor for BIOFIN, working on catalyzing private finance for biodiversity. He leads the work on innovative financing instruments for Big Cats landscapes such as conservation bonds, blended finance funds, and nature credits. Before joining UNDP, he worked with WWF for 8 years in several Southeast Asian countries managing landscape conservation programmes. He also worked with Barclays Capital for 4 years in Singapore in financial risk management. He holds a Bachelor and Master in Computer Science from IIT Delhi, an MBA and is a CFA charter holder.

Mahtab is the Global Communications Lead at BIOFIN. He has over a decade of experience with news and reportage with major media outlets including the Associated Press, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, the BBC, CNN and others. His career with the UN has seen him support over 24 country offices in various advisory capacities, including strategy, media engagement, campaigns, crisis communications and a pivot to digital content and workflows. He has a first degree in Economics and an MA in International Journalism from London’s City University as a Chevening Scholar.

Ana Lucía Orozco Rubio (Costa Rica, Guatemala)  joined the BIOFIN Global Team as Environmental Finance Advisor for the LAC Region.  Prior to this post, she worked as the BIOFIN Coordinator in Costa Rica from late 2019 until January 2023. She has more than 18 years of experience in Sustainable Development, and has specialized in public policy and finance mechanisms for biodiversity, with inclusive instruments for indigenous people and women economic empowerment.

Bruno N Mweemba is the BIOFIN Technical Advisor on Environmental Finance for the African Region currently covering Zambia, Uganda and Malawi.

Prior to joining the BIOFIN Global Team, Bruno also worked in Zambia as Country Team Leader and Lead Consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). He was particularly critical in the mainstreaming of green finance into Zambia’s financial sector and the development of Zambia’s green bond market.

Bruno is a Development Finance Expert and Chartered Accountant by training with extensive expertise in Environmental Finance, Project Finance, Financial Management and Accounting with over 18 years experience.

Academically, he has a Master of Philosophy in Development Finance (Nelson Mandela University, South Africa) and an MBA in Financial Services (University of East London, United Kingdom). He is also a Certified Expert in Climate & Renewable Energy Finance (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management-Germany), Chartered Accountant (ACCA) and an Infrastructure Project Finance Expert (Middlesex University-UK).

Meruyet Sadvakassova brings over 9 years of experience in communications and public information, having served as a communications specialist in diverse UN agencies, such as the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Asia, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Asia, UNODC Vienna, UN OCHA Regional Office for Caucasus and Central Asia, and UNDP Kazakhstan country office. In her previous roles, Meruyert has managed social media, websites, and content creation. She holds a master's degree in public administration from Newcastle University, UK.

Ainur Shalakhanova (Kazakhstan) joins the BIOFIN Global team as an Environmental Finance Analyst for the Asia and Pacific Region.

She provides technical support and undertakes reviews and impact monitoring of BIOFIN methodological outputs and processes; support the Technical Advisors in assisting National BIOFIN teams in identifying, developing and implementing the right mix of finance solutions, designing and reviewing finance solution proposals and other technical documents.

Prior to this role, Ainur worked with BIOFIN Kazakhstan team for over seven years as the Resource mobilization and finance solutions implementation expert. She has led the work on the introduction of positive subsidies in wildlife and certification system in ecotourism. Ainur analysed the public and private expenditures on biodiversity in Kazakhstan, estimated the financial needs for implementation of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and took a part in development of Biodiversity Finance Plan. She also was responsible for preparation of Kazakhstani 6th National Report on Biodiversity.

Ainur holds a bachelor's degree in Hydrogeology at the Kazakh National Technical University and master's degree in Finance and Investment at University of Essex.

Pierre has almost 4 years of professional experience in project management in developing countries, thanks to his previous missions as Project Manager in a consultancy firm and as Investment Officer at the French Development Agency (AFD) in Zimbabwe. Before joining UNDP, he mainly worked on issues relating to biodiversity, agriculture and public finance management. He graduated from Grenoble Alpes University in development economics and from ESC Grenoble in Management

She is providing support to monitoring and reporting as required for the successful management and achievement of the outcomes of the Initiative, and support to the core management, human resources, sourcing consultants, and procurement management. Semiray previously worked as Travel and Logistics Associate in the Istanbul Regional Hub ensuring high quality and accuracy of work in order to obtain the optimum travel and logistics services. Prior to joining the IRH, Semiray worked as an Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in New York for 4 years. During her tenure with the Permanent Mission, she was mostly focusing on the topics of the Economic and Social Committee. She holds a Master's degree in Global Trade Management from the State University of New York.

Onat has joined the team where he supports project management, finance,budget planning, as well as portfolio monitoring and implementation. Before his tenure with UNDP, he worked with several international organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where he specialized in sustainable supply chain and information management. He also gained experience in the private sector, focusing on corporate governance and finance. Onat holds an MA degree in International Economics and Finance.

Serhat supports BIOFIN's global and national planning and management, focusing on achieving successful results for the initiative. Before joining UNDP, he was working Travel & Logistics Team at UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub since 2016. He worked in the tourism and hotel industry with various hotel and travel companies, where he was responsible for event and travel management. He holds a BA degree in Tourism and Hotel Business Management.

Özlem is providing support to the BIOFIN team with administrative tasks, sourcing interns, crowd-funding campaigns, as well as events and travel management. She is also the gender focal point of the BIOFIN team. Özlem previously worked with several international organizations, including the International Organisations for Migration – The UN Migration Agency (IOM) in Vienna, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna, as well as the Austrian Consulate General in Istanbul. She holds a MA degree in Political Science from the University of Vienna.  

Ronja Fischer is supporting BIOFIN focusing on developing the Global Biodiversity Expenditure (GLOBE) Taxonomy, that will facilitate the Biodiversity Expenditure Review of the countries following the BIOFIN methodology, and the Financial Resources (FIRE) Database, a one-shop stop for every kind of biodiversity project seeking funding. She gained former experience at an environmental consultancy and public-private partnership projects from a development bank. She helds a Latin-American German Double Degree focusing on Business Administration and a Master in Environmental Economics. She is also a member of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network focusing on the CBD and the new Global Biodiversity Framework.