Isabel CALLE VALLADARES

Isabel Calle Valladares is a lawyer and environmental governance leader with more than 25 years of experience in legal advocacy, regulatory design, and public policy for the protection of the environment and community rights. Since 2020, she has served as Executive Director of the Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), a pioneering environmental law organization in Latin America, where she has led an institutional strengthening process that diversified its donor base, and consolidated governance, transparency, and strategic management systems.

Under her leadership, SPDA has reinforced its role as a national and regional reference in environmental law. At the international level, Isabel represents Peruvian and Latin American civil society in critical multilateral processes. She has actively engaged in the negotiations of the Global Plastics Treaty (INC) and in climate justice discussions within the framework of the UN Climate Change COPs. Her leadership seeks to build bridges between global commitments and local realities, ensuring that international cooperation and environmental policies translate into tangible benefits for ecosystems and communities. 

Isabel joined SPDA in 1998 and has held various positions within the organization, from assistant to Director of the Environmental Policy and Governance Program, building a career marked by legal reform and policy advocacy. She contributed to the drafting of landmark regulations such as the General Environmental Law (Law No. 28611), the law creating the National Service for Environmental Certification of Sustainable Investments (SENACE, Law No. 29968), and several reforms related to environmental oversight and compensation. She was also part of the process that led to the adoption of the Escazú Agreement, a regional treaty that guarantees access to information, public participation, and environmental justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.

She holds a Law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), with a specialization in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and pursued graduate studies in Government and Public Policy (PUCP). Isabel has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental law at PUCP and is a regular speaker at national and international forums. She is also the author of several specialized publications on environmental law, regulation of extractive industries and infrastructure, as well as environmental oversight and impact assessment.