One Conservancy Science Gathering 2026

2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist. His work captures the essence of endangered ecosystems and species, the beauty of the culture, and raises awareness about the urgent need to protect biodiversity.

Dr Mumba is a Zambian-born environmentalist with over 25 years of global experience in environmental management and sustainable development. She joins the Convention on Wetlands from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she has served as Senior Advisor on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, leading UNDP’s engagement as a Strategic Collaborating Partner in the Decade, and as Director for the Rome Centre for Sustainable Development, with a focus on climate change, sustainable development and nature protection.Prior to joining UNDP, Dr Mumba worked at the global headquarters of the UN Environment Programme for 12 years in different functions, including as Head of the UNEP Terrestrial Ecosystems Programme.She is the founder of the Network of African Women Environmentalists (NAWE) and she has received numerous accolades for her work, including being named one the 100 most influential African women. On International Women’s Day 2022, she was honoured by the Global Landscape Forum (GLF) as one of 16 women from around the world restoring the planet.She started her career at the Environmental Council of Zambia, and has held positions with WWF at its international headquarters in Switzerland, and in East Africa as well as having worked at the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands as a Junior Professional between 1998 and 1999.Dr Mumba holds a PhD in Wetland Hydrology and Conservation from University College London (UCL), and has published extensively in scientific journals and as a contributor to book chapters and in news media. She is an Honorary Senior Research Associate at UCL and a visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Perry World House (PWH) of University of Pennsylvania.

Yoko Watanabe is the Director of Environment at the Asian Development Bank. She heads the environment and nature initiatives, including biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management, nature-based solutions, and air quality and circular economy.She has over 30 years of professional experience working on biodiversity and natural resources management. She has strategically managed large teams and worked on environment projects and programs in over 130 countries. Before joining ADB, she directed the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme as its Global Manager at UNDP in New York.She also worked at the GEF Secretariat in Washington DC for over a decade and held key positions, including Regional Coordinator for the Asia Program, Coordinator on Social Inclusion and Gender, and Program Manager on Biodiversity. While at the World Bank, Yoko served at the Rwanda Country Office and managed its environment portfolio. Before that Yoko worked at the World Wildlife Fund as its Conservation Director in Mongolia and later as a Senior Advisor on Multilateral Relations in Washington DC.She started her development career at JICA in Tokyo, and later at UNDP as Environment Program Officer at Nepal and Mongolia Country Offices.