Nicolás, from Uruguay, joined WHSRN Executive Office team in 2021. As Ranching & Shorebird Conservation Specialist, he focuses on working with local communities in Uruguay to protect coastal lagoons that are of critical importance to shorebirds. He aims to build relationships and engage with ranchers, rancher organizations, and leading agricultural agencies that operate within the lagoon belt.

Nicolás has a PhD in environmental management from Lincoln University in New Zealand and over 15 years of professional experience bringing together ranching and conservation. He led the biodiversity component of a World Bank & GEF Project for Uruguay which set the foundations of natural resource and biodiversity incorporation in agricultural landscapes in Uruguay. He then joined BirdLife International to lead the Southern Cone’s Grasslands Alliance, bringing together ranchers and conservationists to join efforts for conservation ranching along the pampas. He now aims to enhance rancher connections and engagement for shorebird conservation as well as facilitating outreach opportunities throughout grasslands within WHSRN sites.