Leander RAES

Leander specializes in the socio-economic and environmental evaluation of nature-based solutions (NbS), supporting the development of policies, action plans, and business cases to implement and finance them. His work includes assessing the impacts and dependencies of businesses, economic sectors and economies on nature using a natural capital framework, and how this translates into risks and opportunities for action. Though his work has global relevance, it emphasizes local and national applications. Leander joined IUCN in 2016 as an Economist with the Regional Office for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, based in Costa Rica. In 2019, he moved to the Economy and Finance Team in Washington, DC. He holds a double PhD in Applied Biological Sciences from Ghent University and Resource Economics from Humboldt University of Berlin.