Inés Geovana Carreño Rocabado,PhD (Geovana)
Researcher in agroecology, tropical forest ecology, environmental education
Current position: Independent researcher and consultant
Working address: Urb. Las Palmas de Este
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
E-mail: gcr@carreno-rocabado.com
Webpage: www.carreno-rocabado.com/ www.researchgate.net/profile/Geovana_Carreno-Rocabado
Nationality: Bolivian
Academic Training:
Ph.D. in Plant Ecology and Ecosystems, Wageningen University, The Netherlands (2009 – 2013). Supervisor Prof. Dr. Frans Bongers. Thesis: Linking land use intensification, plant community and ecosystem processes in lowland Bolivia.
M. Sc. in Ecology and Management of Natural Resources, Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa, Mexico (2004-2006). Supervisor Dr. Klus Mehltreter. Thesis: Evaluation of a shade coffee plantation and adjacent forest fragment for conservation of ferns diversity in Veracruz, México.
Bachelor in Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Bolivia (1992 – 2000). Supervisor Dr. Timothy Killeen. Thesis: Age determination and population structure in two tree ferns species at National Amboró Park, Santa Cruz – Bolivia.
Areas of interests:
• Sustainable family farming systems and agroecological intensification in tropical ecosystems.
• Plant ecology, biodiversity (taxonomic and functional diversity) ecosystem processes, anthropic disturbance effects.
• Environmental education and training for wide range of persons from farming and indigenous communities, personnel of protected areas to academic fellows on how to design and conduct research in ecology and use own experiences to evaluate natural resource use decisions.
Working experience:
• April 2014 and current. Postdoctoral Fellow at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Research associate at CATIE. Turrialba, Costa Rica.
• October 2013-January 2014. Consultant at Foundation Natura Bolivia. Bolivia. Expert in biomass estimation and greenhouse gas emissions into the Project of “Reciprocal agreements for water in the Municipality of San Carlos, Bolivia”.
• September 2013-October 2013. Consultant at Department of Postgrado of Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Bolivia. Teaching a module of crop physiology, and a course of ecosystem management.
• March 2007-June 2009. Researcher at Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal -IBIF, Bolivia. This research was part of a multidisciplinary project that evaluated the functional biodiversity effects on ecosystem processes, ecosystem services and sustainability in the Americas: an interdisciplinary approach lead by the Dr. Sandra Díaz.
• January 2002-July 2004. General coordinator at the ONG Rescate en tus Manos – REMA, Bolivia.
REMA was a national non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the environmental education, conservation and science communication both in urban and rural areas.
I was responsible of fundraising, project coordination, employees training, workshop facilitation, and editor of institutional journal. • January 2000 – December 2001. Geographic Information Systems Technician at the department of geographical information systems of Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Bolivia.
• Agricultural technician, Family Orchards Program, PRODEPA, Bolivia. (1999, six months). I worked with women from a rural community assisting in improving food production and adding nutritional value through home gardens.
Teaching, training and mentoring experience
• Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Bolivia. Courses on Ecosystem management and crop physiology for bachelor and post-graduate students (Agust 2013-current).
• Organize and lead various workshops to work with school teachers to develop environmental education for elementary schools in Chile, Panama, and Bolivia. (2001 – 2003)
• Organize and lead various workshops on design of field studies for management of protected areas and conservation biology, to train people from rural communities, students and park guards (Chile and Bolivia).
• Workshop for local communities in designing and monitoring ecosystem services. Bolivia (2002, 2013)
Supervise MSc and BSc students to develop their theses
• Samuel Oblitas 2014-2016. Evaluación de la intensificación de las fincas en Nicaragua. Mater thesis at CATIE (part of the advice committee).
• Freddy Amores. 2014-2015. Contribución de los arboles a los medios de vida en fincas de Nicargua. Mater thesis at CATIE (part of the advice committee).
• Willan Caicedo 2015. Diversidad de arboles y stock de carbón en fincas de Nicaragua. Mater thesis at CATIE (part of the advice committee)
• Maartje Bakker 2010. Connecting the lifecycle’s loos end in lowland Bolivia. MSc thesis, Wageningen University. The Netherland.
• Guisela Languidey 2015. Logging intensity effects on litter fall production in a moist forest in Bolivia. Bachelor Thesis. Universidad Autonoma Gabriel René Moreno. Bolivia.
Grants and fellowships
• 3 year of female postdoc fellow at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
• 3.5-year of Ph. D. scholarship from Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP). Applied with Dr. Bongers (Euro 80.000) (2009 – 2013).
• Research internship grant for 2 months from the Instituto de Ecología. Xalapa, Veracruz-México (2006)
• Economic support to participate in the Primer Congreso Mexicano de Ecología (2006).
• 1.5-year of MSc scholarship from the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores del gobierno Mexicano ($ 40.000) (2004-2006).
• Economic support for field work thesis master degree. Instituto de Ecología. Xalapa, Veracruz-México (2005)
• Grant to build the Interpretation Center in Santiago de Chiquitos, Bolivia from the Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitado ($ 24 000) (2004-2006)
• Grant for the Phase 1 and 2 of environmental education project at the natural protected are Amboró from the Nacional Audubon Society ($ 45 000) (2003-2004)
• Grant to organize the first and second Ecology Meeting for primary and secondary school students from the AVINA foundation and privates companies ($ 11 000) (2003 and 2004)
• Grant to establish the Pilot Project of Environmental education at the urban area in Santa Cruz from AVINA foundation ($ 8 000) (2002).
Publications and Science animation
Publications in Peer reviewed journals
• Carreño-Rocabado G., Marielos Peña-Claros, Frans Bongers, Sandra Díaz, Fabien Quétier, José Chuviña, and Lourens Poorter. 2016. Response of community functional properties to land-use intensification in tropical ecosystems. Ecological Application 26: 174-189. (0 citations)
• Finegan, B., M. Peña-Claros, A. de Oliveira, N. Ascarrunz, M. S. Bret-Harte, G. Carreño-Rocabado, F. Casanoves, S. Díaz, P. Eguiguren Velepucha, F. Fernandez, J. C. Licona, L. Lorenzo, B. Salgado Negret, M. Vaz, and L. Poorter. 2015. Does functional trait diversity predict above-ground biomass and productivity of tropical forests? Testing three alternative hypotheses. Journal of Ecology 103:191-201. (8 citations)
• Carreño-Rocabado G. 2013. Linking land-use intensification, plant communities and ecosystem processes in lowland Bolivia. PhD thesis. Wageningen University. (1 citation)
• Carreño-Rocabado G., M. Peña-Claros, F. Bongers, A. Alarcón, J.-C. Licona, and L. Poorter. 2012. Effects of disturbance intensity on species and functional diversity in a tropical forest. Journal of Ecology 100:1453-1463. (29 citations)
• Bakker, M. A., G. Carreño-Rocabado, and L. Poorter. 2011. Leaf economics traits predict litter decomposition of tropical plants and differ among land use types. Functional Ecology 25:473-483 (43 citation)
Manuals and other
• Carreno-Rocabado, G. and O. Jenny 2016. Los árboles en finca como aliados de la seguridad alimentaria, el ingreso a la familia y los servicios ecosistémicos: evidencia de estudios de caso en el Paisaje Centinela Nicaragua-Honduras. ICRAF-CATIE. Costa Rica
• Carreno-Rocabado G. and S. Hinojosa. 2016. Series de cartillas para la devolución de resultados a las Familias Productoras de EL-Tuma La Dalia y Waslala, Nicaragua: Proyecto árboles en fincas del paisaje centinela Nicaragua-Honduras. ICRAF-CATIE. Disponible online www.paisajecentinela.org
• E. Rivera y G. Carreño. 2007. Guía del Facilitador. Enseñanza de la Ecología en el Patio de la Escuela. Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Book chapters
• Feinsinger, P., S. Álvarez, G. Carreño, E. Rivera, R. L. Cuellar, A. Roldán, L. García, M. Cañizares A. Alegre, F. Daza, M. Figuer. 2007. The key word is “local”: place-based research by local people as a potential tool in Latin American conservation.
• Chiné M., G. Carreño y E. Rivera. 2006. Medioambiente. Módulo 6 del Programa de Formación e Innovación Institucional y Académica dirigido a los Institutos Normales Superiores (INS). Versión online, Universidad de Barcelona Virtual.
Other science communication activities
• Designer and organizer of the Weekly Seminar at CATIE. From 2014 to current there has been organizing more than 50 lectures and workshops. http://semsem.catie.ac.cr/
• Designer and administrator of Nicaragua-Honduras Sentinel Landscape www.paosajecentinela.org
Invited Peer -reviews
Functional Ecology, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, Bosques, and Lilloa.
Other competences
• Language: Spanish (mother language), English fluent, Portuguese (reading).
• Data base management and statistical analysis using R software, expertise with GIS tools, administrator of the webpage www.biodiversitytools.com, www.carreno-rocabado.com