Wataru Suzuki

Wataru Suzuki is Director of the Biodiversity Strategy Office at the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, where he coordinates international biodiversity policy engagement, including matters related to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

With more than three decades of experience in biodiversity conservation, protected area management, international environmental policy and multilateral cooperation, he has served in a wide range of leadership positions in the Government of Japan, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), and the IPBES Technical Support Unit hosted by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). His work has included supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, managing the Japan Biodiversity Fund, promoting the Satoyama Initiative and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), and contributing to the development of IPBES.

Mr. Suzuki brings to GINGR extensive experience in biodiversity policy, stakeholder engagement, capacity development, and international partnerships. His expertise focuses on bridging global biodiversity goals with practical implementation, and on fostering approaches that enable infrastructure and development pathways to contribute positively to both nature and people. At GINGR, he hopes to support efforts to better align renewable energy expansion with biodiversity conservation and nature-positive development pathways.