Paola Agostini is the Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist in the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice.
She leads programs and projects in Central Asia that help reverse land degradation and increase resilience of people, ecosystems, and infrastructures. She also works in the Black Sea region on a program to reduce pollution and increase resilience to climate change. Paola is also coordinating the ECCA30 partnership to restore 30 million hectares of degraded landscapes in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia by 2030.
Previously, she was the Global Lead for Forests, Landscapes, and Ecosystems, working to improve connectivity of Protected Areas, forests, agroforestry, Rangeland, and agriculture land for increased productivity. Paola coordinated TerrAfrica, a regional partnership program in over 26 Sub-Saharan countries that works to promote Sustainable Land and Water Management to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, and encourage resilient landscapes development.
She also served as the coordinator for the GEF Program in Latin America and Africa overseeing a portfolio of over 100 projects focused on Climate Change, Biodiversity, Land Degradation, Chemicals, and International Waters.
She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California San Diego and a master’s degree in Economic and Social Sciences from Universita Bocconi, Milan, Italy.