Dr. Grethel Aguilar is the Regional Director for International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Central America, México, and the Caribbean. She is currently at Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as an associate research scholar and Dorothy S. Maccluskey Fellow in Conservation. She is an author and co-author of numerous publications in the field of environmental law and policy. Most recent publications include Governance of Shared Waters: Legal and Institutional Issues (IUCN-2009) and Forest Legality in Mesoamerica (IUCN-2015).
Dr. Grethel is a Costa Rican Lawyer with a Doctorate Degree from the University of Alicante Spain where she developed the thesis: "Legal Instruments for access to Genetic Resources and associated traditional knowledge in indigenous territories" obtaining the title of Doctor of Law Outstanding "cum laude". Since 2005 she has been leading the work of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Central America, México, and the Caribbean as the IUCN Regional Director. Since 2017 she also provides support to IUCN Regional office in South America.