Dr. Friederich, a Dutch-born geographer, has been leading INBAR since 2014. Previous to this, he was the IUCN Pan-European Regional Director, overseeing operations in Europe, Russia and Central Asia, while having also managed the organizations global fundraising unit.

He has also worked in IUCN’s Eastern Africa Regional Office, as senior technical advisor for the Ministry of Science and Technology in Vietnam -where he was the first foreigner to be decorated with the Medal for Science and Technology. In Thailand, Dr. Friederich was the Chief Technical Advisor of a UNDP Mekong Wetlands Conservation and Management Programme, and he provided oversight over the IUCN Programme in China. Dr. Friederich earned his PhD in groundwater hydrochemistry from the University of Bristol, UK.