Ana ORTIZ-MONASTERIO is an independent consultant and coordinator of the non-governmental organisation, Redes para la Dibversidad, la Equidad y la Sustentabilidad, A.C. She gives advice and support to government agencies in relation to participatory sustainable development and biodiversity conservation and use, and is currently moving towards supporting sustainable community-based project through direct assistance and links to funding sources, academic support and relevant organizations.

She has played a key role in the Mexican Federal Government in the development of the first law that, instead of regulating a productive activity based on certain natural living resources, integrated measures for the conservation and sustainable use of all wild species and their natural habitats. She has also participated in other law and policy making processes to support related to Mexican genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. She supports participatory learning linked to these topics and her research interests in different countries have also been linked to the, focusing on aspects of equity, power, knowledge, diversity, gender and participation.

Ana is a lawyer, with a MPhil in Development Studies from the UK based Institute of Development Studies, at the University of Sussex, Brighton.