Co-Creating a Future Through Regeneration
Eduard Muller is the Founder and President of the University for International Cooperation (UCI) with headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica, and graduates in over 60 countries. Dr. Muller is one of the global leaders who are promoting regenerative development for creating innovative solutions to our current challenges through transdisciplinary teams working integrally in the economic, social, cultural, environmental, political and spiritual realms, seeking to reverse global climate change and transition to wellbeing of all life forms.
In July 2018 he led the co-creation of the Regenerate Costa Rica initiative (https://en.costaricaregenerativa.org/), a bioregional initiative with over 40 international and national partners. A few years ago, he launched the first formal educational programs in regenerative entrepreneurship. He has been instrumental in establishing an alliance with Ubiquity University and many global partners such as Doughnut Economics, Capital Institute, and many others for the launch in 2021 of the first Master’s degree program in Regenerative Action. Also, the Global Regeneration Corps has been launched to train first responders for regeneration across the planet.
Eduard is an internationally recognized trend-setting leader with extensive professional experience over four decades on five continents and dozens of countries in a wide array of fields. His work has covered management and innovation in higher education, global and climate change communication, nature conservation and nature-based solutions, business and biodiversity initiatives, public private partnerships, conservation and development, sustainable development, sustainable and now regenerative tourism, eco and agrotourism, rural community development, rural development, local agendas 21, community management for poverty reduction, functional landscapes, and others. He has occupied relevant international positions in wildlife management, protected areas, UNESCO MAB Program, development and evaluation of agricultural and environmental productive projects, breeding and animal production, alternative production systems and veterinary medicine. He has adopted spirituality, deep consciousness, and empathy as the major change-makers in human behavior, working closely with the Earth Charter initiative and more recently the Laudato Si.
Eduard is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), member of the Advisory Council for Adopt a Meter initiative from The Carbon Underground, member of the board of Soil In Formation, member of the Global Council of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance – WEAll and also member of the World Intellectual Forum, India. He has been a negotiator at the UN conventions and a member of the Scientific Council for Climate Change of the Government of Costa Rica.
Over the last years he has given over 500 conferences in more than 50 countries in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia to a diverse public, including presidents, parliamentarians, governors and ministers, students and teachers at universities, colleges and schools, businessmen, international organizations and local and indigenous communities. He has also given TV and radio interviews in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru.
He has worked as a consultant for GTZ-GIZ, UNDP, World Bank, UNESCO MAB and World Heritage, IUCN, IAEA, IICA, CATIE, CCAD, FCBC, TNC, Winrock International, governments and various governmental, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, having had professional activities in more than 35 countries.
He has received many distinctions and recognitions. He was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador to the La Palma Biosphere Reserve in Spain. He also received the Medal “30 years of Democracy” from the National Congress of Argentina. He is also a recognized nature photographer.
Eduard has authored over 50 publications, some of the most recent ones are:
· Müller, E. 2020. Regenerative development as natural solution for sustainability. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786430106.00021
· Moreno, T. and Müller, E. Biosphere Reserves, ideal sites to implement holistic approaches in regenerative development. In: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, Supporting Biocultural Diversity, Sustainability and Society. Routledge, London, 2019. Chapter 15, 15p.
· Müller, E. 2018. Regenerative Development in Higher Education: Costa Rica’s Perspective. In: Nancy W. Gleason Ed. Higher Education in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., Singapore. P. 121-143.
· Müller, E. 2015. A holistic approach to regenerative development is the only way to halt biodiversity loss. Royal Academy of Engineering. https://www.raeng.org.uk/policy/international-policy-and-development/gcrf-international-development/engineering-a-better-world-caets-2016/thought-pieces-(1)/a-holistic-approach-to-regenerative-development-is
· Enkerlin-Hoeflich, E.C., Sandwith, T., MacKinnon, K., Allen, D., Andrade, A., Badman, T., Bueno, P., Campbell, K., Ervin, J., Laffoley, D., Hay-Edie, T., Hockings, M., Johansson, S., Keenleyside, K., Langhammer, P., Mueller, E., Vierros, M., Welling, L., Woodley, S. and Dudley, N. 2015. IUCN/WCPA 11 Protected Areas Program: Making Space for People and Biodiversity in the Anthropocene. In: Earth Stewardship, Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice. Rozzi, R., Stuart Chapin III, F., Baird Callicott, J., CPickett, S.T.A., Power, M.E., Armesto, J.J. and May Jr, R.H. Editors. Springer, 464 p.
· Müller, E., Appleton, M. R., Ricci, G., Valverde, A. and Reynolds, D. 2015. Capacity development, In: G. L. Worboys, M. Lockwood, A. Kothari, S. Feary and I. Pulsford (eds) Protected Area Governance and Management, pp. 251–290, ANU Press, Canberra
· Müller, E. 2014. December 22. In: Global Chorus, 365 Voices on the Future of the Planet. 2014. Todd MacLean Ed. Rocky Mountain Books, Canada. p 395.