INSTITUTE:

UNU-EHS

OFFICE:

Environmental Vulnerability & Ecosystem Services Section (EVES)

E-MAIL:

ortiz-vargas@ehs.unu.edu

NATIONALITY:

Bolivia

Research Interests

• Disaster risk reduction
• Ecosystem Services
• nature-based solutions

Education

• Master in Geography, Risk and Human Security United Nations University/Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Germany
• Diploma in Environmental Sciences Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno, Bolivia

Biographical Statement

Andrea is a research associate at the Environmental Vulnerability & Ecosystem Services (EVES) Section, where she supports the FloodAdapt project and UNU-EHS Flagship Report project, in both being the focus of her research: Nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction in central Viet Nam. She is originally from Bolivia and moved to Germany in 2017 to pursue a Master’s degree in Geography, Risk and Human Security. In Bolivia, she got her diploma in Environmental Sciences and right after that worked in forest management of indigenous communities, and environmental impact assessments. She speaks several languages and enjoys traveling and hiking. Through her studies, she has been awarded scholarships, honorific distinctions and special mentions for being an outstanding student. Currently, she has around 7 years of working experience in various environmental topics, but her main interest lays in doing research on ecosystem services, climate change, NbS/EbA and disaster risk reduction. In the past, she has also worked with the German Development Institute (DIE), the European Forestry Institute (EFI) and the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Office (UNDRR), supporting the development of research and the execution of projects around the world.