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Minerva G. Gonzalez


is a marine biologist by training, an environment and development management specialist by practice and a social and human rights activist by vocation. She has more than 30 years of extensive experience in the multidisciplinary dynamics of community based management of natural resources including protected area establishment and management, coastal resource management, biodiversity management and in recent years, climate justice advocacy. She has served as consultant to various ODA funded projects with government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and the National Economic and Development Authority. She has also undertaken project preparation and evaluation work in Cambodia on sustainable livelihood development in the Mekong Sub Region for Action Aid and Oxfam Great Britain. She served as Third Country Expert to the Department of Fisheries of the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia in the development of appropriate fisheries co-management models, policies and approaches in 2003. She belongs to the select pool of reviewers of the Environmental Management Bureau (DENR) tasked with reviewing the Environmental Impact Assessment procedural and substantive compliance to the Philippine EIS system of environmentally critical industries and projects prior to the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates. So far, she has participated and completed the review of more than 20 projects nationwide. She serves as the chairperson of the board of ESCR-Asia, vice chairperson of the board of the Center for Empowerment and Resource Development (CERD), an NGO engaged in developing learning communities and sustainable coastal resource management and also active in the board of Tbak, an organization of Martial Law activists.