Yoko Watanabe is the Director of Environment at the Asian Development Bank. She heads the environment and nature initiatives, including biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management, nature-based solutions, and air quality and circular economy.
She has over 30 years of professional experience working on biodiversity and natural resources management. She has strategically managed large teams and worked on environment projects and programs in over 130 countries. Before joining ADB, she directed the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme as its Global Manager at UNDP in New York.
She also worked at the GEF Secretariat in Washington DC for over a decade and held key positions, including Regional Coordinator for the Asia Program, Coordinator on Social Inclusion and Gender, and Program Manager on Biodiversity. While at the World Bank, Yoko served at the Rwanda Country Office and managed its environment portfolio. Before that Yoko worked at the World Wildlife Fund as its Conservation Director in Mongolia and later as a Senior Advisor on Multilateral Relations in Washington DC.
She started her development career at JICA in Tokyo, and later at UNDP as Environment Program Officer at Nepal and Mongolia Country Offices.