Ainsley Henry

Mr Ainsley A. Henry, J.P., has a long and distinguished career extending more than 20 years in the environment sector of Jamaica. His experience in this sector includes his present post as CEO and Conservator of Forests at the Forestry Department in Jamaica. He has also worked as the Programme Manager for the highly successful Climate Investment Fund/Inter-American Development Bank-funded “Investment Plan for the Caribbean Regional Track of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR)” implemented through the Mona Office for Research and Innovation at the University of the West Indies. This programme was executed across six Caribbean countries: Haiti, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Jamaica. Earlier in his career, he worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) and the National Environment and Planning Agency (Government of Jamaica) in various posts, including as an environmental officer, a manager and a director at that Agency. He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in Environmental Management and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Botany/Zoology (Double Major) from the University of the West Indies (Mona campus). His interest and training in forestry date to his studies, where he not only did forestry courses but also focused heavily on wetlands, including mangrove forests, during his graduate studies. In 2021, he was elected president of the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission (COFLAC). Mr Henry has held several board appointments and memberships in several associations and is a Justice of the Peace. He is also a certified scuba diver and an avid hiker.