ZMT Alumnus and Ambassador:
Dr. Alejandro Espinoza Tenorio | Mexico
What was your position at ZMT?
When I first met Matthias Wolff from ZMT in 2006, I asked for a chance to be part of his group as a PhD student. I was very excited when I found out that I could join ZMT in 2007 to work with Matthias on fisheries management. Fortunately, I received a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) which helped me finance my research on integrative planning approaches for ecosystem-based fisheries management based on two study cases in Mexican marine regions.
How did you benefit from your time at ZMT?
ZMT helped me to improve my understanding of fisheries, and I was able to further develop my main field of research interest: the development of integrative management approaches for the sustainable use of tropical ecosystems. I also got to know a lot of other students and researchers from all over the world, some of whom I still keep in contact with. This network has proven to be very useful to me when I returned to my home country, and I will be forever grateful for the many doors ZMT opened for me.
What happened since you left the institute?
I am currently an associate researcher in a federal research center, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), and I am also part of the Researcher National System (level 1) in Mexico. As an investigator at ECOSUR and being responsible for the Transdisciplinary Laboratory for Sustainability (LaTSu, by its Spanish acronym), I coordinate holistic frameworks for resource management, emphasising ecosystem-based fisheries management and the use of traditional and local ecological knowledge in the management of natural resources.