People

Gisela Paredes Leguizamón

All People

  • Role in Center:

    Network Partner

  • Discipline:

    Urban Planning, Sustainable Development

  • University:

    Uniagraria, Universidad Gran Colombia y Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia

  • Country:

    Colombia

A Colombian zootechnist trained at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, she holds an MSc in Rural Development from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a Master of Science in Managing Global Change from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía.

She is a development and land-use planning specialist at Parques Nacionales de Colombia and a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the Transboundary Conservation Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She also served as an Ambassador of the Latin American and Caribbean Development Planning Network of ECLAC/CEPAL from 2022 to 2023.

Alongside her professional work, she teaches Environmental Licensing at Universidad Agraria de Colombia (UNIAGRARIA), Regional Urban Planning at Universidad La Gran Colombia, and Land-Use Planning and Conservation at the Universidad para la Cooperación Internacional (UCI).

Her research focuses on territorial processes shaped by inter-institutional coordination and multiscale community participation. She also works on the integration of biodiversity and protected areas into land-use planning instruments, using an ecosystem-based approach that incorporates rights, risk management, climate change, urban-regional dynamics, and differentiated territorial perspectives to support governance and conflict management.

Selected Publications:

    • Colectivo de Guardaparques; Galvis, N; Jiménez, N; Ladino, R; Lemus, P; Paredes-Leguizamón, G; Setina, V; Suárez, L; Troncoso, J y Velásquez, H (2022). Territory, Biodiversity, Development, Reconciliation and Peace in Colombia. https://www.ecosystemforpeace.org/compendium
    • Botero, C.M., Vargas, E., Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (Eds.) 2021. Contributions for territorial and marine planning. https://www.sogeocol.edu.co/documentos/aportes_para_el_orden_territorial_marino.pdf
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2020). “Incorporation of Judgment 4360 of 2018, Amazon Subject of Rights and environmental dimension in the territorial development plans of the Colombian Amazon”. Bogotá, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development – Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, USAID https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WPQP.pdf
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2019). “Journal of the multilevel planning process for integrating protected areas to Colombian land use planning 2012-2017”, L. M. Cuervo and M. del P. Délano (publishers), “Multiscale planning: land use planning, territorial prospective, and public leadership. Volume III”, Seminars and Conferences series N° 93 (LC/TS. 2019/61), (p. 21-43). Santiago, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
      https://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/44875-planificacion-multiescalarordenamiento-prospectiva-territorial-liderazgos
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2019). “Reflections and contributions from three pilot cases of integration of protected areas to land use planning and urban environmental management, in Arrendajo Escarlata. Ministry of Environment and Sustaninable Development – Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible,. Ed No. 7 year 5 January-june 2019. Bogotá-Colombia (Pp 36-50)https://issuu.com/andreamilenaovalle/docs/el_arrendajo_escarlata_no._7
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2018). Integrating protected areas into land use planning: the case of Colombia. International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN – Parques Nacionales de Colombia. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2018-051- Es.pdf
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G and Hernández, G (2018). “Consolidated report on status and progress of land use planning in Colombia, 2012-2017 period”. Departamento Nacional de Planeación   https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Desarrollo%20Territorial/Informe%20OT%20Colombia%202012- 2017%20definitivo.pdf
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2015). “Diversity, the starting point for planning land use planning”. Espacio, Sociedad y Territorio EST. Vol 2, No. 4 July-December 2015. Pp. 23-45https://es.scribd.com/document/344494697/NML-en-EST-2017
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2015). In: Vasilijević, M., Zunckel, K., McKinney, M., Erg, B., Schoon, M., Rosen Michel, T. Transboundary Conservation: a systematic and integrated approach. Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines, Series No. 23, Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. P.75. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/PAG-023.pdf
    • Paredes-Leguizamón, G. (2012).   Policy guidelines proposal for land and territory management in national parks and other protected areas: case of Colombia. Revista Parques No. 3, RedParques 2012  http://revistaparques.org/2012- 1/estudios/politicapara-gestion-de-tierras-colombia/

Areas of Expertise:

  • Conservation and Management of Biodiversity
  • Territorial Development
  • Land use planning
  • Community Work
  • Rural Development

Current Position(s):

  • Professional specialized in development and land use planning at Parques Nacionales de Colombia, since 1996
  • Professor of Environmental licenses at Universidad Agraria de Colombia – UNIAGRARIA university, since 2019
  • Professor of Regional urban planning at Universidad La Gran Colombia university, since 2019
  • Professor of Territorial Prospective at Universidad Santo Tomás university, since 2020
  • Researcher within the group Centro de Altos Estudios in Cuencas Hidrográficas at Universidad Santo Tomás university

Past Position(s)

  • 2017-2019 Technical Secretariat Coordinator of the Land Use Planning Commission at Departamento Nacional de Planeación de Colombia-DNP
  • 2010-2011 Professional at the Group of protected areas for South America at IUCN South
  • Professor of Land use planning at Dialogues of Inter-institutional Permanent Offer and professor of Land use planning at Diploma courses in Ethnic Rights and Local Development addressed to leaders of black communities, indigenous people, and farmers of the Choco Biogeographic region, 2015-2018
  • Professor of Land use planning and conservation at Universidad de Cooperación Internacional – UCI university, 2019

Prizes & Awards:

  • 2016-2019. Guest teacher, courses of Land use planning and development, CEPAL México, Chile, Uruguay

 

  • Technical coordinator in Colombia for the “Integrated Land Use Planning for the implementation of the CBD’s strategic plan and increase of ecosystems resilience to climate change” project, that was carried out in Vietnam, Tanzania, Zambia, and Colombia. IUCN – National Parks Agreement, during the period of 2014-2018.

 

  • January to July, 2013. Coordinator and teacher for the team in charge of the design and development of the BioCAN program virtual course “Formulation of policies and rules to integrate the Amazon biodiversity in planning and land use planning in Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and Bolivia”. Secretary of the Andean Community.

 

  • March 2010-June 2011. Technical coordinator in Bolivia and Paraguay for the project “Consolidation of the management of protected areas as a contribution to reducing poverty in South America”. IUCN South. Quito, Ecuador.

 

  • Structuring, inter-institutional management and operation coordinator for eight test cases of protected areas in land use, as a contribution to the Land Use Planning General Policy. Parques Nacionales, since 2012

 

Memberships & Networks:

  • Member of the World Comission on Protected Areas – WCPA the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN.
  • Member of the Transboundary Conservation Group from the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN.
  • National Expert Group Marine Spatial Planning the Colombia-MSPGlobal Unesco
  • Inter-institutional Special Committee of the Territorial Planning Commission of Colombia
  • https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0000336874