Conserving Wildlife and Human Cultures

Halting the loss of biodiversity and cultural diversity necessitates an understanding of the connections between people and the planet. In her talk, Alejandra Echeverri will elucidate how individuals perceive endangered species, such as sea otters, and explore effective messaging strategies to foster greater care for wildlife. Additionally, she will delve into the profound cultural significance attributed to birds, while highlighting the impacts of deforestation and climate change on revered species.

Through a comprehensive policy analysis, Echeverri will demonstrate the current state of environmental policies and how they govern biodiversity. Lastly, she will demonstrate the promising role of the tourism sector in wildlife conservation and its contribution to preserving human cultures. Her talk will also show how community-engaged research with governments and local communities might lead to policy changes in the environmental sector.

About the Speaker

Dr. Alejandra Echeverri Ochoa is a biodiversity conservation scientist, professor, science communicator, and advocate for women, Latinx, and youth in STEM. Dr Echeverri’s research sits at the intersection of Neotropical ornithology, conservation psychology, environmental policy, and community ecology. Dr Echeverri’s lab integrates biological field work (such as bird surveys) with quantitative social surveys, qualitative content analysis, and narrative- based methods to understand human relationships with nature. Specifically, she studies how people's behaviors towards the environment (such as habitat conversion) impact the species that live in such environments. She also studies peoples’ attitudes and behaviors towards biodiversity, and the interrelationships between nature and culture to advance the science on biocultural conservation. Her work is coproduced with local communities, governments, and policymakers to codevelop and inform environmental policies.

Echeverri is a National Geographic Young Explorer and a United Nations Youth advocate. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes Science, Elle magazine Canada, Nature News and various newspapers and media outlets across the world. Echeverri joined the faculty in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) at the University of California, Berkeley in 2023. She was born and raised in the coffee-growing region of Colombia. Her experiences as a Latina in STEM who has held positions in the Norwegian Peace Corps, as an environmental consultant in Colombia, and as a scientist in Canada and the United States inform her practice as a conservation scientist and professor. She is committed to producing good science, training the next generation of conservation scientists, and codeveloping evidence-based policies with governments and local communities so that we can have a better world for people and for many other species with whom we share our planet.