Viviana has been selected for technical support proposed by Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) and within the framework of the Scholars Program of the Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA), a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

She and her team are going to analyze the opportunity cost of early implementation of REDD+ on the Ariari-Guejar-Cafre sector in the department of Meta, to provide technical and economic data to enrich the analysis of drivers and agents of deforestation. Her research will be used in the process of formulating the project design document of this initiative, by estimating the profitability and net benefit of land use, trend analysis of changes in use, and the estimation and mapping of opportunity costs.

She’ll be coordinating the development of activities during the investigation such as the application of socioeconomic survey tools, estimation of carbon content in forests of the region, and analyzing the results of socializing with communities. She looks forward to this incredible opportunity and to learning as much as possible.

Previously, Sandra was a field coordinator who worked implementing an early REDD initiative. She also held an influential position in the National Park Sierra de la Macarena in Colombia. She is a forest engineer and a currently working to complete her Master’s degree at the University of Buenos Aires in Natural Resources. She has 8 years of professional experience working in education, environmental awareness, conservation, and the development of environmental management plans. She has been involved with the National Parks System of Colombia since 2006, working on ecological restoration in protected areas. Over the last two years, she has provided technical support for the early implementation process of a REDD mechanism in the Ariari-Guejar-Cafre sector of Colombia.