The Green Developer

Marco Antonio Guerrero Hiza, teacher and consultant from Bolivia, builds a life around preserving the world's natural landscape and biodiversity. As part of this journey, he joined AIU to become a Doctor of Environmental Science and successfully graduated in 2012.

Living for nature

With the knowledge Guerrero acquired during his studies at AIU, he boosted his reach to pursue some challenging tasks. This way, Marco developed over 270 projects for productivity and development in different areas, including fishing, agriculture, livestock, and forest.

Bolivia, a mainly indigenous country in South America, ranks among the countries with the highest biodiversity in the whole world. Forests cover close to 50% of his land area, including Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), a 1,523,000 ha giant in the Amazon.

Data shows that Bolivia loses over 200 thousand hectares annually due to deforestation, a number that increases as years go by. Deforestation causes environmental unbalance, more so in areas with biodiversity as rich as this country, negatively affecting climate change.

Nature and innovation

One of Guerrero's main goals was to approach development with environmentally friendly technology and innovation. As Director of La Plata River Basin, Guerrero's efforts aimed to reduce the area's overexploitation, protect indigenous communities, and preserve biodiversity.

This basin is the 2nd largest in South America -after the Amazon-, occupying 17% of its total surface and encompasses land from Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia. It is also home to one of the most significant varieties of endemic fishes, birds, and major dams globally.

The work that Guerrero Hiza does in Bolivia has a significant impact on the entire world. Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations set in their 2030 Agenda, Guerrero's work leads to at least 6. His work with the Agriculture and Livestock Sanitation Department contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal. He also contributes directly towards having Sustainable cities and communities, Responsible consumption and production, Climate action, Life below water, and Life on land.

Guerrero Hiza's contribution benefits the whole world, and we need many like him. Are you one? Sign up with Atlantic University and become it.

Tags:
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Bolivia, Environment, Biodiversity, Indigenous, South America, Amazon, Nature

References:
Marco Antonio Guerrero Hiza - Bolivia Atlantic International University - AIU 2012

Poverty, inequality and human development of indigenous peoples in Bolivia
2009

The impacts of deforestation on biodiversity in Bolivia
2019

Bolivia among the top 10 most biodiverse countries in the world
2014

LA PLATA RIVER BASIN: A Framework for the Sustainable Management of Its Water Resources with Respect to the Hydrological Effects of Climatic Variability and Change
2005