Dr. Louisa Wood is a marine protected area (MPA) specialist and a geographer. Dr. Wood received her Doctorate in Geography from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and is Advisor & Technical Lead on MPAs with IUCN’s Global Marine Programme.

Dr. Wood was involved in the development of a global layer of Marine Protected Areas for inclusion in ‘Oceans in Google Earth’.  The ‘Oceans in Google Earth’ project created detailed scientific information on MPAs, and allows for accessible information about the importance of marine resource management. Her goal is to see how new technologies can create a greater understanding of challenges, sustain human activity, and build protection solutions for the world’s oceans.

Dr. Wood has 9 years of experience on a variety of MPA and marine conservation projects for the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)‐ World Conservation Monitoring Centre, IUCN‐World Commission on Protected Areas, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.