Jon Paul Rodríguez is an award-winning Venezuelan conservationist who wears many hats. As Co-Founder of local NGO Provita, he spearheaded work to nearly triple the number of Endangered Yellow-Shouldered Parrots in the wild, winning the Whitley Gold Award in 2019 in the process. More recently, he was elected as the first non-European or non-North American Chair of the IUCN Nature Species Survival Commission. During this discussion we talk about his career, the story of the Yellow-Shouldered Parrot and his vision for the next four years for the Species Survival Commission globally. We also discuss the importance of diversity in conservation, and he shares an inspiring answer as to what single change might make the biggest difference on the planet.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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