Ernesto Christian Enkerlin Hoeflich (born on 14 December 1958 in Monterrey

Monterrey

Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...

, Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

) is a prominent Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 conservationist and researcher specialized in parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s' ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, environmental policy and biodiversity stewardship. His efforts at the National Commission on Natural Protected Areas of Mexico, which he presided from 2001 to 2010, were distinguished with the 2005 Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation

Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation

The Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation is a biennial award sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman "to afford recognition to outstanding contributions by individuals, groups of individuals, institutes...

 by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 and one of the 2009 Distinguished Service Awards by the Society for Conservation Biology

Society for Conservation Biology

The Society for Conservation Biology is an 5013 non-profit international professional organization devoted to scientific study of the "maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity." There are 10,000 members worldwide, including students and those in related non-academic sectors. ...

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Enkerlin holds a bachelor's degree in Agricultural and Zootechnics Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education

The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education commonly shortened as Monterrey Institute of Technology or Monterrey Tech is one of the largest private, nonsectarian and coeducational multi-campus universities in...

 (ITESM, 1980) and a doctorate degree from Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 at College Station (1995). He has also worked as a research professor at the Center for Environmental Quality (ITESM) and as an adjunct research scientist for the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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As a conservationist, Dr. Enkerlin has worked for several NGOs and co-founded Amigos de la Naturaleza and Pronatura Noreste before joining the National Commission on Natural Protected Areas by presidential appointment. During his tenure, the Commission has incorporated five new sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves

World Network of Biosphere Reserves

The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves covers internationally-designated protected...

 and has protected more than 52 wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s under the Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

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