Mario Jorge Baudoin Weeks (September 4, 1942 – May 18, 2019) was a Bolivian biologist and conservationist known for his research in Bolivia and Costa Rica. He was the first director of Bolivia's national park system, and served as director of several academic and government institutes, including the , the Institute of Ecology at
Higher University of San Andrés
Higher University of San Andrés (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA or Major University of San Andrés) is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Boli ...
, Dirección Nacional Conservación de Biodiversidad (DNCB) and the
La Selva Biological Station
La Selva Biological Station is a protected area encompassing 1,536 ha of low-land tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica. It is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies,Matlock, R., & Hartshorn, G. (1999). La selva biol ...
in Costa Rica.
In the early 1990s he was involved in the creation of the (SERNAP), which led to the 1995 establishment of
Madidi National Park
Madidi () is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958km². Along with the nearby protected (though not necessarily contiguous) areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and the Manu Biosp ...
.
He received the 2008 Distinguished Services Award from the
Society for Conservation Biology
The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an 501(c)(3) non-profit international professional organization that is dedicated to conserving biodiversity. There are over 4,000 members worldwide, including students and those in related non-academ ...
.
Born in
Sucre
Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the List of cities in Bolivia, 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . T ...
, Baudoin received his education in the United States, earning a B.Sc. at the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
in 1967 followed by a master's (1969) and Ph.D. (1976) from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He joined the faculty of the Higher University of San Andrés in 1985.
From 1991 to 1995 he was National Director of Biodiversity Conservation,
where he secured several million dollars from the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
to support Bolivia's national park system.
From 1998 to 2002 he served as General Director of Biodiversity under the Vice Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development, serving several times as Acting Deputy Minister.
Baudoin died in
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
on May 18, 2019, at the age of 76.
He is commemorated in the scientific name of the
bromeliad
The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
species ''Greigia marioi.''
References
1942 births
2019 deaths
20th-century biologists
Bolivian scientists
City College of New York alumni
University of Michigan alumni
Conservationists
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