Javier Gustavo Montoya Zumaeta

Javier Gustavo Montoya Zumaeta

Peru

Javier has been selected for technical support proposed by Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) and within the framework of the Scholars Program of the Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA), a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

His research project takes place in the Nanay basin, which provides drinking water to Iquitos, the most populous city in the lower Peruvian Amazon. His research will contribute to a database that combines GIS data with statistical and econometric estimates to help design an effective system of incentives for forest conservation. The results will be used to model projected deforestation in the basin, estimate socioeconomic impacts on the inhabitants, and produce guidelines for the design of an incentive strategy for forest conservation in the area.

Javier has six years of professional experience, primarily in rural areas of the Peruvian Amazon, where he participated in various applied research projects in the context of conservation incentives, the sustainable management of biodiversity, and agricultural innovation. He has also taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has worked for various organizations including the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP), Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), the WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), and the World Agroforestry Centre. He currently serves as a technical advisor to the Sustainable Rural Development Programme of the German Development Cooperation (GiZ) in collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Environment on the application of economic instruments for managing natural capital. Javier obtained his Master's degree in Environmental Socioeconomics at CATIE in Costa Rica and completed his undergraduate studies at the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), where he specialized in Economic Valuation of Natural Heritage in collaboration with the Universidad del Pacífico (UP).