Dr. Jaime Manuel Gonzalez Cano

Jaime Manuel GONZALEZ CANO is the Director of three Marine Parks on the eastern coast of the Mexican Caribbean for the Natural Protected Areas National Commission (CONANP) which belongs to the Ministry of Environment (SEMARNAT). One of these Marine Protected Areas (MPA) (in the vicinity of Cancun City)is visited by close to 850,000 tourist per year and is considered the most visited marine park in the world, only comparable to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but much smaller than this one. In addition to the management of these MPA, he is also in charge of the research project and part of the team of the whale shark on the northeast coast of the Yucatan Penynsula. Before being appointed for this position, He was responsible for the Lobster Project in the Mexican Caribbean and is head of the Bilateral Agreements with Cuba and Jamaica.

He has had 17 years of experience working with lobster fisheries. Since 1994, he has worked as consultant on environmental studies for both national and international organizations and the private sector as well. Some of his affiliations include the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CARICOM Fisheries Resource Assessment and Management Program, World Bank and the Mexican National Biodiversity Commission (CONABIO). Between 1999-2002 he acted as Programme Officer for Mesoamerican Reef System Project of World Wild Life Fund based in the Mexican Caribbean. More recently he conducted consultancy work for the World Commission for Protected Areas (Marine) in two of the Mexican Caribbean Marine Protected Areas.

He Coordinated the Lobster Fisheries Management Plan for the entire Yucatan Peninsula for period 2003-2008 and provided elements for the elaboration of the fisheries management component of Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area in the Bay Islands in Honduras. He has lectured at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Previously, he worked as subdirector of the Fishing Resources Assessment Division at the National Institute of Fisheries and has conducted a great number of environmental Assessment studies for different development projects along the coast of the Quintana Roo Estate in Mexico. He has been involved two certifiaction processes in fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). One which was succesfully concluded during 2004.More recently He is an adviser for CONABIO in a project dealing with market economic incentive for the spiny losbter in two Biosphere Reserves within the Mexican Caribbean. An effort financed by Ford Foundation.

His experience has increased and involves areas on coastal zone Management, development of economic alternatives for community based fishing groups, sustainability aspects of tourism development and certification of small scale community based fisheries and tourism.

His doctorate in natural resources management and diploma on fisheries management are from The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in the United Kingdom, under the supervision of Prof. John Beddington.