Yacquie Montecinos

Yacquie is the Marine Biodiversity Conservation Manager at WWF-Chile, where she works n close collaboration with the Chilean government, scientists, national and international NGOs. 

Yacquie’s focus is the protection of Chilean dolphin and blue whale critical habitat, though the design and promotion of different conservation strategies such as the development of a marine protected area network proposal for Patagonian region and the promotion of marine traffic regulation for the reduction of underwater noise impact and collisions on cetaceans. She works with the WWF Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative coordinating its Pacific Blue Corridor project - improving the management of migratory whales in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in collaboration with WWF offices in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

Yacquie has participated in various marine conservation projects worldwide, such as promoting the Corcovado Gulf Marine protected Area proposal to protect the blue whale feeding ground within the Chiloense Ecoregion in Southern Chile. She was involved in projects such as identifying the high ecological value areas for a network of marine protected areas in the coast of Pakistan and Bangladesh in a partnership with different NGOs and universities as part of her postgraduate course at University of Oxford and promoting the Marine Park proposal for Easter Island working closely with the Easter Island community and Pew Charitable Trusts. Yacquie is based in Valdivia city in southern Chile.