Johan Robinson is currently Chief of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Biodiversity and Land Degradation Unit in UN Environment’s Ecosystem Division. The Unit develops and implements projects funded by the GEF biodiversity and land degradation focal areas, as well as a few crosscutting, multifocal area projects. Johan has over 20 years of applied experience in the field of biodiversity conservation and natural resource management and its role in sustainable development. He has worked in numerous natural environments including tropical forests, dry land, mountain, wetland, freshwater and marine ecosystems. He has specific expertise in the areas of protected area management and finance, mainstreaming biodiversity into production sectors (such as fisheries, forestry, agriculture and tourism), and ecosystem-based climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Before joining UN Environment in 2015, he was assisting countries in the Asia and Pacific, Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States and Arab States regions as Regional Technical Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme in accessing GEF funds for ecosystems and biodiversity project implementation. Prior to joining UNDP, Johan worked as adviser/manager for a number of environmental and biodiversity projects in Tanzania, Cambodia, Botswana, Zambia and Seychelles.
Johan holds an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, an MSc in Protected Landscape Management from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Environmental Economics from the University of London, United Kingdom.
