Esteban Neira-Monsalve is an Industrial Microbiologist (BSc) and MSc in
Biotechnology from Wageningen University & Research. As part of the Genetic Resources Group
of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Colombia, he was a negotiator
of the Colombian delegation at COP15 and its preceding meetings. His role as a negotiator
focused on genetic resources (ABS), biosafety (Cartagena Protocol), synthetic biology, and
Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (DSI). On behalf of Colombia, Esteban was
also a representative of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) in the Informal
Advisory Group of the Co-Presidents of COP15 on DSI. Along with policy development to foster a
bioeconomy from the sustainable use of genetic resources and its DSI, Esteban is passionate
about driving innovation in industrial microbiology and biotechnology to develop solutions that
support a more sustainable future.
Areas of Expertise: Industrial Microbiology, Biotechnology, Genetic Resources Policy, Access and
Benefit-Sharing (ABS), Digital Sequence Information (DSI), Bioeconomy​