Industrial Engineer and Emeritus Professor of the Universidad de los Andes, B.Litt., Administration, University of Oxford
He is currently Professor of the Faculty of Administration of the Universidad de los Andes in Policies on Sustainable Development and the Environment. In this faculty he promoted the creation of the area of social and environmental sustainability, internationally recognized for its leadership. Between 1976 and 1990 he was Secretary General, Vice Chancellor, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Administration, of the Universidad de los Andes.
He was the Prime Minister of the Environment of Colombia and General Manager of Inderena (1990-1994), being responsible from the government for coordinating the development of the law with which the National Environmental System was created. He chaired the United Nations Forum on Forests twice (1996-1999 and 2004-2005) and was a member of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development and the World Bank Advisory Council on Forest Policy. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation and a founding member of the Latin American Platform for Climate Change. Since 1996, the National Environmental Forum has chaired an alliance of eight non-governmental organizations, aimed at contributing to the construction of public policies on sustainable development and the environment in Colombia.
Distinctions
Emeritus Professor of the Universidad de los Andes
National Distinction for the Environment (awarded by the President of the Republic)
National Medal of Education, Agustín Nieto Caballero (awarded by the President of the Republic)
Julio Garavito Order of Merit in the Degree of Grand Cross, the highest distinction awarded by the national government of Colombia in the field of engineering.
One of the 10 best leaders in Colombia, 2013, a distinction awarded by the Fundación Liderazgo por Colombia and Semana Magazine
He is a columnist for the newspaper El Tiempo and the author of numerous publications.
Most recent books
Con Mance, Henry; Carolina García and Ximena Rueda. Climate change what is at stake. (Uniandes, WWF, FNA, Fescol, 2016) (Ed) Social, economic and environmental risks of the Magdalena River navigability project (National Environmental Forum, 2015); with Martha Cárdenas (Eds.) Development Policies and Adaptation to Climate Change, (National Environmental Forum, 2013); Water wealth of Colombia (Benjamín Villegas Editores, 2009); with Henry Mance, Climate change: what is at stake (National Environmental Forum, 2009); with G. Andrade, E. Uribe and E. Wills, The best Orinoquia we can build (National Environmental Forum, 2009); Editor,Governance, institutions and the environment in Colombia (National Environmental Forum, 2008); with B. van Hoof, Environmental Performance of the oil palm industry in Colombia (Fedepalma, 2004); with Martha Cárdenas (Eds.) Guerra, Sociedad y Medio Ambiente (National Environmental Forum, 2004); with Guillermo Espinoza, Environmental Management in Latin America and the Caribbean (IDB, 2002); The environmental future of Colombia (Uniandes, 2002).