James Leslie

James Leslie is Global Programme Manager for Food and Agricultural Commodities Systems at UNDP, where he integrates a systems approach in efforts to address complex challenges at the nexus of food, climate and biodiversity.

Previously, he worked for many years with UNDP in Peru, as Technical Advisor Ecosystems and Climate Change, where he was responsible for managing the portfolio - including concept development, resource mobilisation and partnership management, and personnel oversight - focused on sustainable commodities and landscapes, climate change, environmental finance and biodiversity conservation. Much of his work has entailed close coordination with national and sub national authorities as well as local communities and private sector, with a particular emphasis on the Andes Amazon. Before joining UNDP, he collaborated with the World Bank, Yale University, the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy in Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Mozambique. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences with a focus on social ecology and forest governance from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management, with a focus on business strategy and finance. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in biology and education from Brown University, USA.