Andrea Sáenz Arroyo

Andrea Sáenz-Arroyo is a Mexican marine biologist, with a Ph.D. in environmental economics and management from the UK. She has devoted her research to understanding complex interactions in socio-ecological systems with a long-term historical perspective. She has been particularly engaged in trying to understand the factors that generate prosperous, sustainable and inclusive economies, committed to preserving their natural heritage. She worked for more than a decade with several coastal communities from the Gulf of California and the Mexican Pacific Ocean to develop models to strengthen community rights and public participation as an incentive to restore marine ecosystems.

In 2011, Sáenz-Arroyo was awarded a Pew Fellowship in marine conservation, the most prestigious recognition for marine scientists in the world. As part of her project, she carried out research on coastal societies around the world that have developed inspiring levels of protecting the ocean. A Sea of Hope is the result of her fascinating journey to get to know these societies around the world.

In March 2014, she was appointed professor in biodiversity conservation at the Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), a research center based in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, with a long tradition in researching the socio-ecological systems of Central America and the Maya region.