Gland, Switzerland, 19 March 2024 (IUCN) – IUCN is pleased to welcome Ms Francisca Cortés Solari as its newest Patron of Nature. Ms Cortés Solari will join other conservation and philanthropy leaders, including H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle, to amplify IUCN’s voice globally for the conservation of biodiversity and the environment.
“I am delighted to welcome Francisca to IUCN’s Patrons of Nature. We look forward to working with her and Philanthropy Cortés Solari to continue to expand our reach in Latin America and beyond, and to drive ambitious action on biodiversity and climate,” said IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar.
A successful businesswoman and conservationist from Chile, Ms Cortés Solari founded Philanthropy Cortés Solari in 2002, and has dedicated her life to the service of initiatives focused on environmental conservation and education in her country and around the world.
“I am very grateful to join IUCN’s Patrons of Nature, a necessary and unique space to jointly address the climate change and biodiversity loss crises. Today more than ever, it is essential to bring together actors from the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, to drive concrete actions in this area,” said Ms Cortés Solari.
Philanthropy Cortés Solari has been working for 21 years on programmes at the service of integral education, focused on the educational community in Chile and Latin America. In the field of biodiversity, Philanthropy Cortés Solari has focused on the conservation of three sites that are strategic to the mitigation of climate change – the Atacama Desert, Chilean Central Zone, and Northern Chilean Patagonia.
IUCN founded the Patrons of Nature in 2010 to rally global leaders and mobilise resources in support of the Union’s vision of a just world that values and conserves nature. Patrons of Nature provide strategic guidance to the Director General and generate investment for IUCN’s programmes as well as specific flagship initiatives.