Josefina Braña Varela

Josefina Braña Varela has dedicated more than 20 years to global environmental issues, in particular the conservation of the world’s most important forests. Currently, Josefina serves as vice president and deputy lead of the forest team at WWF-US. In this capacity, she manages and supports the implementation of efforts dedicated to halting deforestation and forest degradation in critical geographies. In addition, Josefina is point on Forest Climate Solutions for WWF, overseeing a multidisciplinary team working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring our forests remain healthy and abundant. Since 2013, she has also led WWF’s global forest and climate policy agenda and advocacy efforts.

Over the course of her career, Josefina has been integrally involved in major international negotiations. From 2009-2013, she was part of Mexico’s delegation to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where she negotiated REDD+, a mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and land-use related issues.