Tony La Viña is a lawyer, educator and environmental policy expert, based in Manila. He is currently Associate Director for climate policy and international relations of Manila Observatory. La Viña was previously Executive Director of Manila Observatory, Dean of the Ateneo School of Government, Senior Fellow and Biological Resources Program Director at the World Resources Institute, Undersecretary of the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and co-founder and research and policy development director of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center.
La Viña has served many times as lead negotiator for the Philippines in the implementation of Conventions on Biological Diversity and Climate Change, including in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Paris Agreement. He served as a key facilitator for the Land Use Change (LULUCF) negotiations in Kyoto in 1997 and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation-Plus (REDD+) negotiations under the UNFCCC from 2009 to 2011. He was a lead negotiator and spokesperson of the Philippine delegation during the 2015 Paris climate negotiations.
