Catalina Riveros-Gómez

Catalina Riveros-Gómez is a PhD student in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley whose research examines environmental justice, critical agrarian questions, political ecology, and biodiversity and biocultural conservation in Latin America. Her research focuses on Colombia’s northwestern Amazon, where she works with campesino communities to examine how agrarian, legal, political, and ecological dynamics shape forests and forest governance. Drawing on environmental justice, feminist political ecology, biodiversity and biocultural conservation, her work centers local knowledge, gendered experiences, stewardship and care, and community decision-making, with the goal of advancing socially just, culturally grounded, and ecologically effective approaches to forest conservation.

Admittance Year & Program

Fall 2024, Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley.

Education

M.Sc. in Environment and Development, Universidad Nacional, Colombia.

Specialization in Public Management and Administrative Institutions, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

Law degree (J.D. equivalent), Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

Research Labs

Critical Environmental Justice Lab (Michael Mascarenhas)

Echeverri Lab (Alejandra Echeverri)

Selected Publications

• López, F., & Riveros, C. (2023). “Deforestation and expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Colombian Amazon.” In Contributions to Conflict and Peacebuilding Studies from the Colombian Academy (pp. 240–270). National University of Colombia.

• Bernal, J., Sudarsky, J., & Riveros, C. (2021). “Illicit crops in Colombia’s Natural National Parks: Dynamics, drivers, and policy responses.” Journal of Illicit Economies and Development

• Riveros, C. (2021). Environmental Analysis of Deforestation in the Guaviare Peasant Reserve Zone. National University of Colombia.

• Hernández, M., Riveros, C., Rueda, M., Salinas, Y., & Zarama, J. (2015). A Displaced Nation: National Report on Forced Displacement in Colombia. Colombian National Center for Historical Memory.

• Riveros, C., Vanegas, F., Vivas, J., & Convers, P. (2015). Devastated Villages: Memories of Forced Displacement in El Castillo (Meta). Colombian National Center for Historical Memory.

Selected Presentations

• Riveros-Gómez, C“Living in and with the Forests: Partnering with Campesino Communities to Protect the Colombian Amazon.” POLLEN Conference (Political Ecology Network), Barcelona, Spain, 2026.

Selected Honors and Awards

• 2026 — Continuing Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley
• 2026 — D-Lab/LRC Latinx Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley
• 2025 — Chancellor’s Public Fellow, University of California, Berkeley
• 2025 — Starter Grant, University of California, Berkeley
• 2024 — Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study, University of California, Berkeley