Juan Luis Mérega is Executive Director of Fundación del Sur, an Argentine NGO, with broad participation in social and environmental projects. Since 1996, Mérega has been involved in the process of negotiation and implementation of the UNCCD. He attended as an observer many UNCCD meetings, either at global, regional and national levels. He was also Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Network of ONGs Combating Desertification (RIOD-ALC) from 2001 to 2004. He was member of the CSO Selection Panel, in representation of the Latin America and Caribbean Region from 2011 to 2013. He wrote and compiled several articles and books on the topic of desertification and land degradation. He is architect, 57 years old, and married. As Executive Director of Fundación del Sur, Mérega has been involved in the implementation of many field activities, both in the Patagonia and Chaco Regions. These activities have been focused in capacity building (e.g. workshops for the preparation of UNCCD National Reports), education (e.g. workshops and seminars on sustainable development for High School teachers and educators), forests protection (e.g. plantation of 2,000 hectares of native species in Santiago del Estero Province, in collaboration with GADE) and land restoration (e.g. restoration of “mallines” and fixation of dunes, in collaboration with INTA-Esquel). For more information please visit: http://www.fundasur.org.ar Mr. Juan Luis Merega Fundación del Sur Cochabamba 4491150 Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel: + 54.11.4361 8549 Fax: + 54.11.4307 0545 e-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]