- What We Do
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Anti-Corruption
- Climate Change
- Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance
- Economic Growth and Trade
- Education
- Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure
- Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework
- Climate Change
- Conserving Biodiversity
- Biodiversity Policy
- Conservation is Development
- Combating Wildlife Trafficking
- Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
- Illegal Logging and Deforestation
- Our Impact
- Annual Reports
- Stories
- Addressing Gender-Based Violence
- Biodiversitylinks Knowledge Portal
- Central Africa’s Radios
- Environmental Finance Impact Awards 2020
- Fighting Wildlife Crime with Tech
- Findings from Investments in Enterprises
- Four Ways the USAID ROUTES Partnership Helped the Air Transport Industry Recognize and Stop Wildlife Crime
- From Bait to Plate
- Hope for Tigers in Bangladesh
- Human–Forest Health in Africa
- Indigenous Intercultural Exchange
- Indonesia Fair Trade Fishing
- Liberia’s Female Ecoguards
- One Health
- Pollinators: A Key Piece of the Development Puzzle
- Promoting Rights of Indigenous People
- Spotlight: Monica Romo
- World Wildlife Day 2021
- Energy
- Infrastructure
- Sustainable Urbanization
- Land Tenure and Property Rights
- Earth Day 2021
- Environmental Procedures Hub
- Environmental and Social Risk Management
- Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act
- Environmental Policy Roadmap
- Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
- Global Health
- Humanitarian Assistance
- Innovation, Technology, and Research
- Nutrition
- Water and Sanitation
- Working in Crises and Conflict
Speeches Shim

By Tiffany Gibert, Environmental Incentives • December 9, 2019
As a child in Peru, Monica Romo traveled throughout the country, visiting coastal provinces in the west and seeing the Andes mountain range. Then, in high school, she visited the Amazon region for the first time and found her future career direction. “I was so inspired by the Amazon and the forest,” Monica says, “that I studied biology and specialized in ecology.”
In 2011, Monica transferred her ecology studies to her role as a Regional Amazon Environment Specialist with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She currently manages two activities: Amazon Indigenous Rights and Resources and Strengthening the Capacities of Indigenous Organizations.
”You have the ability to think of solutions to environmental problems and turn them into reality.”
Both programs foster indigenous rights and economic opportunities while also strengthening natural resource management. Despite the challenges of international development, Monica appreciates the rewarding experience of seeing results in her work.

Looking to the future, Monica envisions an Amazon region in which “governments incorporate more of the goals of biodiversity in different sectors.” She thinks that both environmental and social sustainability can be more consistently integrated into programs, especially those that rely on natural resources. At USAID, Monica is a champion for conservation, particularly now that the world is experiencing unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss. In the face of such environmental challenges, Monica sees hope in the younger generation. “They have been more exposed to and educated on environmental matters. They can be leaders.”
Last updated: February 28, 2020
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.