About Maria Mejia & Juliana Echeverri

Maria Meija holds a double major / Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics and a minor in urban studies. She is currently studying Global Change Ecology (MSc.) at the University of Bayreuth (Germany). In the beginning of 2018, she completed an internship with GIZ and the Asian Development Bank in Manila (Philippines), assisting with the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA). In the past, she worked for the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Research Institute of Biodiversity in Colombia. As part of her work for the Institute of Biodiversity, she edited the book "Urban Nature: Platform of Experiences" (2016), a thrilling project reporting on urban biodiversity in Colombia. Maria Meija is keen to learn more about networking initiatives among cities, especially in high biodiverse and urbanising regions. Juliana Echeverri holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology. She is especially interested in how the relationship between nature and human beings is constructed. Working in sustainable environmental projects for GIZ since 2016, she is currently involved in a conservation project for biodiversity in protected areas, building local authority capacities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In the past, she worked with the Ministry of the Environment, National Natural Parks, the National Research Institute of Biodiversity of Colombia and other national and international organizations. Among the different projects aiming to mainstream biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban planning and land-use was the biodiversity proposal for the city of Medellín.