Johnson Cerda conducts research related to climate change, biodiversity and protected areas in Ecuador. Johnson is currently a member of the GEF/NGO Committee that represents the indigenous peoples of Latin America.
Johnson Cerda is an indigenous Kichwa of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Comuna Santa Elena – Limoncocha). Mr. Cerda has worked with indigenous organizations in Ecuador and also in the regional organization of the Amazon CONFENIAE. He has collaborated with government institutions in Ecuador such as the Development Council of Nationalities and Peoples of Ecuador (CODENPE) and the Institute for Eco development of the Amazon Region (ECORAE).
In 2000, Johnson was nominated by indigenous organizations in the Amazon to serve as Co-Director of the Amazon Alliance in Washington, DC where he worked until 2005. He has since returned to work in Ecuador, conducting research related to climate change, biodiversity and protected areas. He is a former member of the Indigenous Parliament of the Ecuadorian Amazon representing FOKISE, and was a member of a Technical Advisory Panel of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank; he is currently a member of the GEF/NGO Committee representing indigenous peoples of Latin America. Mr. Cerda has started working with Conservation International as Indigenous Advisor since February 2009.