Paula Caballero is a climate activist and diplomat. As early as COP1 in 1995, she has been involved in climate negotiations as head of Colombia's delegation. [1] She was the director of the Environment and Natural Resources at the World Bank from 2014-2016. [1] [2] As of April 2023, she serves as the regional managing director for Latin America at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). [3]
Paula Caballero is the granddaughter of Helena Laverde de Gomez. Paula Caballero studied at Brown University where she completed a BA in history and a master's degree in international relations. [4] After she graduated from Brown University, she returned to Bogota, Colombia, and worked as a researcher at the Center for International Development at Universidad de los Andes. Over the years, she worked a variety of jobs around the world in such places as Bogota, London and New York.
Paula Caballero conceptualized the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as goals that would replace the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) proposed in 2000. [5] [2] The MDGs did not do enough for environmental sustainability and focused only on developing countries. [6] [7] She first presented them to the United Nations in Solo, Indonesia but they did not go under discussion. The committee reconvened in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, but only Guatemala had signed on. An important topic of debate was the whether or not too many goals were included. The SDG proposal almost died at G77, but Indian delegate Vivek Wadekar reminded the summit that the text had already been accepted. For a few years, the text of the goals was further developed through an open working group. In 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the SDGs. [5]
She recounts her experience of trying to push the SDGs to the United Nations in her book, Redefining Development: The Extraordinary Genesis of the Sustainable Development Goals. [7] In 2019, she received the German Sustainability Prize with German President Joachim Gauck and Mich Hucknall. [2] [8] In 2022, she gave the commencement speech to the graduating class of the Universidad de los Andes. [7]
Caballero continues to work on social and climate problems through the Nature Conservancy. In her role, she works both on changing public policy and with the private sector on financial flow. [7]
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other major urban areas include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language, although Creole, English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.
The University of the Andes, also commonly self-styled as Uniandes, is a private research university located in the city centre of Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 1948 by a group of Colombian intellectuals led by Mario Laserna Pinzón, it was the first Colombian university established as nonsectarian.
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Altiplano Cundiboyacense comprises three distinctive flat regions; the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso. The average altitude of the altiplano is about 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) above sea level but ranges from roughly 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
Alberto Carrasquilla Barrera is a Colombian politician who served as the Minister of Finance and Public Credit under the government of President Iván Duque, and previously under President Álvaro Uribe. In May 2021 he resigned office over the protests surrounding a controversial tax reform in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Samuel Gustavo Moreno Rojas was a Colombian lawyer and politician, son of former congressman Samuel Moreno Díaz and former presidential candidate María Eugenia Rojas Correa, grandson of former Colombian political-military authoritarian leader and ex-president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. His brother Iván Moreno Rojas is a former Mayor of Bucaramanga, minister and senator. On 28 October 2007, Moreno Rojas was elected Mayor of Bogotá representing the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) for the 2008–2012 term. On 3 May 2011, Moreno was suspended and stripped of his office by the Office of the Inspector General for improprieties in the appropriation of city contracts. For the same accusations, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia argued for a pretrial detention, and Moreno was arrested on 23 September 2011. He was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years of prison for his direct involvement in a corruption scheme during his term.
The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of 4,251.6 square kilometres (1,641.6 sq mi) and an average altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft). The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes.
Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata is a Colombian engineer, professor, and politician. She served as the 8th Minister of Culture of Colombia in the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Moreno became the first Afro-Colombian woman, as well as the youngest person, to hold a Cabinet position in Colombia. She was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a non-degree program, the Fellowship offers valuable opportunities for professional development through selected university courses, attending conferences, networking, and practical work experiences during one year.
Miguel Urrutia Montoya was a Colombian economist and author, who served as Titular Professor of Economics at the University of the Andes in Bogotá. He served as 12th General Manager of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia from 1993 to 2004, and as 5th Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy in 1977 during the administration of Alfonso López Michelsen.
Alejandro Gaviria Uribe is a Colombian economist and engineer, serving as the Minister of National Education of Colombia since 7 August 2022, replacing María Victoria Angulo. He also served as Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia from 2012 to 2018. He is the former Rector of the University of Los Andes (Colombia), where he served from 2019 to August 2021. He was Dean of the School of Economics at University of los Andes in 2006, until his appointment as Minister in 2012. Prior to his academic career, Gaviria served as Deputy Director of the National Planning Department of Colombia, as well as Deputy Director of the Foundation for the Higher Education and Development (Fedesarrollo), a private non-profit policy research centre, and as a Researcher at the Inter-American Development Bank. A published author of several books and scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, in 2019 he was appointed Rector of University of the Andes for a four-year period.
Leicy María Santos Herrera is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Washington Spirit and the Colombia women's national team. She was a national champion with Iowa Central Community College.
Ana María Groot de Mahecha is a Colombian historian, archaeologist, anthropologist and associate professor at the Department of Anthropology of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Ana Mariá Groot speaks Spanish, English and French.
Carl Henrik Langebaek Rueda is a Colombian anthropologist, archaeologist and historian. He has been contributing on the knowledge of archaeological evidences, especially the Herrera Period and the Muisca. Langebaek was vice-chancellor for academic affairs at Universidad de los Andes and speaks Spanish and English.
The Eastern Hills are a chain of hills forming the eastern natural boundary of the Colombian capital Bogotá. They are part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the high plateau of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The Eastern Hills are bordered by the Chingaza National Natural Park to the east, the Bogotá savanna to the west and north, and the Sumapaz Páramo to the south. The north-northeast to south-southwest trending mountain chain is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long and its width varies from 0.4 to 8 kilometres. The highest hilltops rise to 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) over the western flatlands at 2,600 metres (8,500 ft). The Torca River at the border with Chía in the north, the boquerón Chipaque to the south and the valley of the Teusacá River to the east are the hydrographic limits of the Eastern Hills.
Carolina Sanín Paz is a Colombian writer who also holds Spanish citizenship. She has published novels, essays, short stories, and children's books. She has been a professor at SUNY Purchase in the United States, and at University of Los Andes and National University of Colombia in Colombia. She has also worked as a translator, as a television host, and as a film actress. She has contributed periodical columns to several Colombian and international newspapers and magazines.
María Susana Muhamad González is a Colombian political scientist, environmentalist and politician belonging to the Humane Colombia party. Since August 7, 2022, she has held the position of Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of her country, in the government of Gustavo Petro.
Marta Catalina Velasco Campuzano is a Colombian economist from the University of the Andes, a specialist in Urban law from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and in public policies and urban management, She has a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a PhD in political studies from the Externado University.
Luz Adriana López Ayala is a Colombian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Earth Colombia 2023, and represented Colombia at Miss Earth 2023.
Paula Gaviria Betancur is a Colombian lawyer who was appointed to be a Presidential advisor and a United Nations Special Rapporteur. In each case her expertise was in displaced people.