Maximilien Pardo is currently the UN Environment Head of the Port au Prince Office, Haiti. Prior to Haiti, Maximilien worked in Ecuador, South Africa, Mali, Geneva and Brussels. He has over 10 years of experience in sustainable use and protection of coastal, marine and freshwater resources. He has spent most of his career in the field working closely with Governments, local communities and private sector on environmental governance, green economy, ecosystem-based adaptation and protected areas establishment.
Maximilien led the development of a UN coalition in the South coast of Haiti to promote integrated development at sub-national level. This led i.e. to the declaration of the first marine protected areas of the country by the Government. He is now supporting the establishment of a National Biodiversity Fund. Maximilien is the UN co-chair of the resilience pillar of the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework in Haiti and is member of the Caribbean MPA Managers Network expert group.
His professional focus has mainly been on “making connections”: Connecting biodiversity to sustainable development, connecting hills to reefs; connecting increased understanding to best practices; connecting protected area management to climate change adaptation; connecting donors’ interests to local needs.
He holds a Masters in Anthropology (Université Libre de Bruxelles) with a focus on social ecology, as well as a Masters in International Humanitarian Action (Université de Louvain - University College of Dublin) with specialization on the humanitarian-development nexus. His qualifications also include training certificates in leadership, climate change adaptation in small islands developing states, and biodiversity.
