Chief of Research
Francisco X. Cuesta Camacho
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5150-073X
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francisco_Cuesta
He obtained his Masters and PhD in Tropical Ecology from the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His research aims to understand the effects of climate change and land use in the ecosystems of the Andes. He belongs to the IUCN Ecosystems Red List Specialist Group and the Global Network for Monitoring Alpine Environments (GLORIA). He is the scientific director of the GLORIA-Andes Network (www.condesan.org/gloria) and the Andean forest research network, RBA (www.condesan.org/redbosques). He has designed and directed various cooperation and technical assistance projects focused on the thematic areas of biodiversity, conservation and climate change; and has published numerous scientific articles and books on these topics. He currently works as a principal investigator at the University of the Americas (UDLA), where he directs several research projects focused on studying the relationship of functional diversity in the productivity of montane forests and the páramo. He maintains a long-term research program in the páramos of the Pichincha volcano and the Andean-Chocó forests in the middle Guayllabamba basin. He is one of the co-authors of the IPCC impact report for the northwestern region of South America. He is an associate researcher in the Environment and Sustainability area of the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, where he teaches two classes: (2) Fundamentals of Biodiversity, and (2) Adaptation and mitigation in Andean-Amazon ecosystems. Additionally, Dr Cuesta directs five master's theses and co-directs three doctoral theses from Texas at Austin, Wageningen and Diken University, Australia.
