Barbara J. Lausche, JD

Biography:

 Director, Marine Policy Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Sarasota, Florida, USA (since 2011). A number of MPI projects involve collaborations with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, an intergovernmental organization with UN observer status) and NOAA, among others, with policy assessments and papers on various topics related to marine conservation and Mote’s mission.

Chair (since 2019): Marine Connectivity Working Group (more than 100 marine specialists worldwide) of the IUCN-World Commission on Protected Areas, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group.

Expertise: Barbara is an international environmental lawyer, advisor and policy analyst with more than 30 years of experience in conservation law and policy, nationally and internationally, including to developing countries, providing drafting assistance with national legislation and regulations, and technical advice on compliance with associated international law and policy. Her main areas of focus (terrestrial and marine) have been protected areas/biodiversity conservation, integrated conservation planning, climate change and sea level rise adaptation, connectivity conservation and conservation finance. Prior positions have included serving as staff with the U.S. EPA/Office of Legislation, U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment/Renewable Resources Program, World Wildlife Fund- US/Legal Technical Assistance Program, and World Bank/Legal Department and Global Environment Facility. Early in her career she served two tours as a Peace Corps Volunteer, the second tour as legislative drafter in the Solicitor General’s Office, The Gambia, West Africa.

Since the 1980s, she has been an active member of the IUCN World Commission of Environmental Law and World Commission on Protected Areas, as well as the International Council on Environmental Law. In 2001, Barbara co-founded the Science and Environment Council of Sarasota County (a non-profit organization of public and non-profit organizations with environmental missions or mandates, now expanded to Southwest Florida), and served as its Executive Director until 2006. She is a graduate of the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University, and a member of the DC and Minnesota Bar Associations.