
Ruth Gutierrez
Lead Consultant for Colombia and Perú
Climate and Land Use Alliance
Ruth is the Lead for Colombia and Perú, based in in Bogotá. She has more than 20 years of experience researching and working with indigenous communities, mainly in the Colombian Amazon but also in the wider Andean region. In a range of different roles with government, United Nations, and civil society organizations, Ruth has led humanitarian and development projects supporting displaced indigenous communities, coordinated a multilateral land use (REDD+) initiative (the Guyana Shield Initiative), and designed community conservation programs, among others. From 2012-14 she served as Scientific Director of Bogotá’s José Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden.
Ruth holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, and earned M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in Social Anthropology at Oxford University. She has written more widely about social and environmental policies related to forests and land use, nomadism and displacement in indigenous communities and most recently on deforestation and coca cultivation.