Biography
Engin is the founder and executive director of the Yolda Initiative. Yolda is a research and conservation organisation based in Turkey and operating at international level. Yolda recognizes that humans are an integral part of ecosystems and focuses on the value of local land use systems that benefit biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The main interest of Yolda therefore appears in the intersection based on the mutual relationship of nature and culture where the impact of cultural practices on the maintenance and protection of nature becomes prominent.
Before founding Yolda, he served as the executive director of BirdLife Türkiye from 2010 to 2015. He has held senior management positions for over 14 years in the field of biodiversity conservation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Ankara University and received a scholarship from the Russian Federation to study at Moscow State University for two years.
He is the coordinator of the Alliance for Mediterranean Nature and Culture (AMNC), which comprises 13 nature conservation and research organizations in the Mediterranean. AMNC is a collective action for preserving cultural landscapes where local and traditional governance and land use systems contribute to biodiversity conservation and climate action. Through on-the-ground research and implementation at multiple sites in the Mediterranean region, the partnership aims to enhance scientific knowledge on the links between traditional and local practices and biodiversity. It also promotes the exchange of methodologies and innovative ideas among partners while providing capacity building in topics of interest to the partners.
He is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, and several commission groups, including the IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas.
Engin is also a member of the IUCN Task Force on Reducing the Impact of Fisheries on Marine Biodiversity, which is tasked with developing a global-level Scientific and Technical Situational Analysis to be presented at the World Conservation Congress in 2025.
He is an Honorary Member of the ICCA Consortium, contributing to its work in preserving Territories of Life and advocating for the rights of local communities to access and govern their traditional lands and commons.
Engin is also a member of the Global Secretariat and Global Coordination Group of the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 global coalition. As a member of various working groups, including the Biodiversity group, Engin contributes to enhancing knowledge on the beneficial links between pastoralism and the maintenance of rangeland commons.
His research interests focus on the current state and scale of local and cultural practices and land & sea use systems in the Mediterranean and Europe and their links with biodiversity conservation and climate action. This includes the scientific exploration of the potential of local and traditional common property systems and commons as potential Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures and how such scientific information can inform policy frameworks.
Accordingly, Engin can contribute specifically to the first four themes of the “European Common Lands and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures Conference.”