Juan Marco Alvarez is the Director of the Environmental Governance Program at the World Conservation Union International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In this capacity he in charge of the implementation of the Thematic Areas "Greening the World Economy" and "Naturally Energizing the Future" of the new IUCN 2009-2012 Programme. Previously Juan Marco served as the Executive Director of SalvaNATURA - El Salvador's premier environmental non-profit organization where he focused on national park and integrated watershed management, conservation science, and environmental education, as well as the promotion of certification and best practices for the agriculture and tourism industries. Thanks to this diverse work, SalvaNATURA was awarded the National Environmental Prize in 1998, 2003, and again in 2006. He formed part of the Ministry of the Environment's advisory committee during 1997-1999, its founding years, and was also a member of CONAMA, the strategic advisory committee for the Ministry of the Environment under the Government of President Tony Saca. He is the first Salvadoran to have been elected to the board of directors of the World Conservation Union-IUCN, based in Geneva, Switzerland - the only global environmental organization with a ""voice"" in the UN forum - for the period of 2004-2008. Mr. Alvarez has a master's degree on business administration and sustainable development from INCAE, Costa Rica, obtained in 1995. He is married and has three children.