Julien Calas

Julien Calas is an agricultural engineer specialized in development economics, who graduated from AgroParisTech after previous university studies in biology.

In addition to working at an economic observatory for the Permanent Assembly of French Chambers of Agriculture, Julien worked for ten years abroad as a project supervisor for AFD and the French Global Environment Facility (FGEF) in Senegal, Madagascar and Cambodia. He worked on the fisheries, agriculture, and biodiversity conservation sectors, as well as on the development of banking and microfinance activities. 

In 2006, he became in charge of biodiversity at the FGEF, where he was responsible for assessing and monitoring projects for the conservation of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, support for civil society organizations, and the development of innovative financing tools for conservation.

In September 2014, he joined AFD's evaluation and capitalization unit, where he was in charge of the assessment and capitalization program for the environment and rural sectors. In January 2020, he joined AFD's Research Department and oversees ECOPRONAT, a research program on biodiversity and the development of a pro-nature economy.

Other academic publications

• "Aires marines protégées : capitalisation des expériences cofinancées par le FFEM", with Catherine Gabrié, Thierry Clément, Jean Roger Mercie et Héloïse You, French Fund for the Global Environment (2010).
• "Coopérer et apprendre pour protéger les écosystèmes", Revue Espaces naturels, n°70, French Office for Biodiversity (2020).
• "A “Silent Spring” for the Financial System? Exploring Biodiversity-Related Financial Risks in France", with Romain Svartzman, Étienne Espagne, Julien Gauthey, Paul Hadji-Lazaro, Mathilde Salin, Thomas Allen, Joshua Berger, Antoine Godin, Antoine Vallier, Working Paper n°826, Banque de France (2021).

Blogs and opinion columns

• "Scenarios for achieving the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework", with Julie Maurin, GlobalDev, January 2024.