Title: Challenges for the training of forestry professionals: the case of Peru from the perspective of a practitioner
Time: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 5-6 PM PT (Vancouver)
Speaker: Gustavo Suarez De Freitas
Forest Engineer; President, the Board of Directors of the Pronaturaleza Foundation; Coordinator, the Peru Program at Earth Innovation Institute
Watch the recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6TTfLKtu32I
Profile:
Gustavo is a distinguished leader in environmental conservation and sustainable development. With over 20 years of extensive experience, Gustavo has played a vital role in shaping policies that promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use. He is also an influential consultant for various national and international organizations, where he provides expertise on policy design and implementation related to protected areas, forestry, and wildlife management. Gustavo is dedicated to low-emission rural development strategies within the Peruvian Amazon, emphasizing the need for environmentally-friendly practices that support both communities and conservation.
His impressive career includes significant positions such as:
- Executive Director at ProNaturaleza
- Director General of Protected Areas
- Director General of Forestry and Wildlife
- Executive Coordinator of the National Forest Conservation Program
Abstract:
Forestry sciences in today’s world face significant social, economic, and environmental changes and challenges, particularly in a tropical developing country. The role of the forestry engineer is increasingly diverse. A fundamental characteristic of academia is specialization and the deepening of knowledge in specific areas, even within the same discipline. However, the need to manage complex and heterogeneous landscapes sustainably requires professionals who can handle various aspects of the forestry profession and who are also capable of interacting with other agricultural disciplines, as well as other economic activities and the social and economic sciences. This presentation seeks to illustrate the situation with specific cases and propose lines of future work for academia.