Ximena Vélez Liendo

Ximena Vélez Liendo (born 7 March 1976, Oruro, Bolivia) is a Bolivian conservation biologist whose work focus on the ecology of the Andean bear, known as jukumari in aymara language, and its conservation in Bolivia and the rest of South America.

Ximena Vélez Liendo
Born (1976-03-07) 7 March 1976
Oruro, Bolivia
NationalityBolivian
Alma materHigher University of San Simón, Bolivia
Known forResearch on the coexistence of Andean bears and humans

She is Principal Researcher at joint project between the grassroots NGO, PROMETA,[1] which has listed the species as vulnerable,[2] Chester Zoo (Chester, United Kingdom), the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology (Oxford, United Kingdom) and the Alcide D'Orbigny Museum (Cochabamba, Bolivia).[3]

Ximena has been co-chair of the Andean bear Expert Team, Bear Specialist Group International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2007.[4][5] In 2017, she received the Whitley Award from Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).[6][7]

Trajectory

Ximena Vélez Liendo studied Biological Sciences in the Higher University of San Simón in Cochabamba (Bolivia). While working on her thesis at Carrasco National Park in Cochabamba, she first spotted a bear, which lead her to continue the required research to help the conservation of the specie.[8][9]

In 1999 she moved to Leicester (England, United Kingdom), where she realised her MSc studies in Geographic information systems (GIS) at the University of Leicester studying the deforestation and its social-economic causes in the buffer area of Carrasco National Park (Bolivia).[4] Later, she completed a PhD at the Ecology and Evolution Lab at the University of Antwerp (in Belgium).[4][10]

She returned to Bolivia to carry out her Postdoctoral Studies continuing her research on the Andean bear,[11] joining scientist from the EU, Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia to develop conservation initiatives with communities in Pilon Lajas Biosphere Reserve in Bolivia.[12]

She is currently working on a project in the dry forests of Tarija (Bolivia) to estimate the population size of the bear using camera traps and study its conflict with humans.[6]

References
  1. "An uphill climb: enabling coexistence of Andean bears and farmers in the Bolivian mountains". Whitley Award. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. "The bears and the bees: How honey is helping to save the spectacled bear". MSN. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. "Bear Specialist Group". International Association for Bear Research and Management. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. "Dr Ximena Velez-Liendo | WildCRU". Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. "South America's only bear species is under threat". CNN. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. "Whitley Award donated by the Savitri Waney Charitable Trust - winner Ximena Velez Liendo, Bolivia". Whitley Award. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. "El País - Noticias Tarija Bolivia - Ximena Velez-Liendo gana premio Whitley". www.elpaisonline.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. "Bolivian Biologist Works For Peaceful Co-Existence Between Humans And Bears". The Science Times. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. Bolivia, Opinión. "Ximena Vélez-Liendo. La protectora de los jucumaris". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  10. "Candidata al "Oscar Verde" denuncia agresión a la vida silvestre en Bolivia". Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. Bolivia, Por: RC (5 June 2017). "En Sudamérica: Un tercio de los osos andinos puede desaparecer en 30 años". RC Noticias de Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. "Dr Ximena Velez-Liendo". What we do. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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