Byron Swift

Byron Swift "has dedicated much of his career over the past 23 years to helping local partners establish and support protected areas throughout Latin America. Notable successes include establishment of the 60 square mile Crooked Tree Sanctuary in Belize, the initial purchase of 11,000 acres that led to the creation of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, declaration of the 65,000 hectare Cordillera de Colan reserve in Peru, protection of 20,000 hectares of critical sites in Ecuador, and establishment of the Cani Araucaria Reserve in Chile.

"Byron most recently worked for the Environmental Law Institute for a decade, where he wrote Legal Tools and Incentives for Private Lands Conservation in Latin America: Building Models for Success, and published widely on issues involving biodiversity and natural resources management, industrial pollution and climate change. He previously directed the United States office of IUCN, where he initiated programs to strengthen national funds for the environment, and for non governmental participation in multilateral agencies and the Global Environment Facility. He previously worked for WWF, served in the legal office for parks and wildlife of the U.S. Dept of the Interior, and spent 12 years as international program officer for the Wildwings and Underhill Foundations.

"Byron graduated from Columbia Law School in 1978 and from Stanford University in Economics in 1975. He has served on offical US delegations to the Global Environmental Facility and international conventions, on the Advisory Committee for USAID, and received the keys to Lima, Peru and Guatemala City for his conservation efforts."


 * Executive Director, World Land Trust-US
 * Council, World Land Trust
 * Advisory Council, American Bird Conservancy