Mauricio Cabrera Leal

Minister of Environmental Policies and Regulations of the Colombian Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Mauricio is a geologist from the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil, and a specialist in Remote Sensing. He was Environmental Comptroller, deputy director of the Colombian Environmental Research Institute IDEAM, advisor on environmental policies applied to the productive sectors, with emphasis on mining environmental regulations at the Ministry of the Environment and advisor on government relations at WWF Colombia, coordinator of GEF projects, as well as consultant for the UNDP, World Bank, ECLAC and NRGI.

Lidia Brito is the Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO, where she leads global initiatives promoting scientific collaboration, environmental sustainability, and the integration of science in policy. Ensuring the implementation of the UNESCO’s Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples is part of her mandate. With a background in forestry and a PhD in Forest Sciences from Colorado State University, Brito has a notable history of contributing to science policy and sustainable development. She has held numerous influential roles, including Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology in Mozambique, and director of both the UNESCO’s Regional Office for Science in Latin America and the Caribbean and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa. A strong advocate for youth engagement and the use of science for social inclusion, she has been instrumental in advancing knowledge and policies to address global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.