Eliecer Cruz

Eliecer is a conservation expert known across Latin America. He completed postgraduate studies in Protected Areas Management. Before joining Fundación Jocotoco, he was Director of the Galápagos National Park for eight years. During his tenure, he established the Galápagos Marine Reserve (the second largest MPA at the time) and banned industrial-scale fishing within the reserve. He was also Director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Ecuador for 12 years, where he grew the WWFs presence in the region and supported innovative conservation in the Galápagos Marine Reserve by implementing the first control and surveillance system for the Galápagos as well as a zoning scheme.

Eliecer has also held a suite of important conservation-oriented, government-appointed roles within Ecuadorian government institutions. He served as the Secretary of Coastal-Marine Ecuador for three years, where he led the expansion of existing MPAs and the creation and implementation of a new one, Canta Gallo-Machalillathe largest MPA of coastal Ecuador. He was then appointed as the Governor of the Galápagos and sat on the President’s Cabinet as Minister of the Galápagos for two years. For the last 3 years, he led Island Conservations marine engagements in Latin America.