CATIE Graduate Leads Forest Management in Peru

• Many professionals trained at the institution now hold key positions in political, institutional, and decision-making spheres.

CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) proudly highlights the career of Erasmo Otárola Acevedo, who graduated in 1995 with a Master’s degree in Integrated Natural Resource Management and currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) of Peru.

With over 30 years of professional experience, Otárola has built an outstanding career in the public sector, holding senior management positions at both the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru. His leadership has been closely linked to the sustainable management of forests, biodiversity conservation, and the promotion of sound environmental public policies.

Between 2023 and 2024, Otárola once again collaborated directly with CATIE, this time as the Technical Coordinator of the CATIE-CEDIA Consortium, in a consultancy developed with the National Forest Conservation Program for Climate Change Mitigation of the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment and the FIP/World Bank Project.

This experience reaffirmed the ties between CATIE and one of its most distinguished graduates, contributing to the design and implementation of strategies to strengthen capacity development for sustainable agribusinesses among Amazonian Indigenous communities in the country.

Academic Recognition

In addition to his current role at SERFOR, Otárola shares his knowledge as a graduate professor at the Center for Higher National Studies (CAEN) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), training new generations of professionals committed to sustainability.

His career also reflects strong international experience, with more than 20 years leading international technical cooperation projects with organizations such as the European Union, Belgian Cooperation, ITTO, and the GEF. Likewise, he has worked as a national and international consultant on topics related to ecosystem services, climate change, land-use planning, and forest management.

The bond between CATIE and Erasmo Otárola is a source of institutional pride, as his work exemplifies the impact of the academic training received in Costa Rica and how it has contributed to strengthening environmental and forest management in Peru and across the region.

Last September, a CATIE delegation met in Lima with representatives of Peru’s National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) to explore new cooperation opportunities in sustainable forest management. The meeting included, on behalf of SERFOR, Erasmo Otárola (Executive Director), Athenas Castello Branco Hurtado (Director of International Cooperation), and Fernando León Morales (Advisor to the Executive Directorate). Representing CATIE were Hugo Li Pun (Representative in Peru), Roger Villalobos (President of the Latin American Model Forest Network), and Fernando Carrera (Manager of the LAMFN).

Erasmo Otárola’s career stands as a clear example of the impact that CATIE graduates have across Latin America and the Caribbean. Many professionals trained at the institution currently hold key positions in political, institutional, and decision-making spheres, contributing their knowledge and leadership to the sustainable development of their nations and the strengthening of environmental management in the region.