ELD Secretariat

The ELD Initiative is coordinated and supported by the ELD Secretariat, which is hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) at the Sector Project Resilient Rural Areas.

Johannes Kruse

Position  ELD Co-Coordinator Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Johannes joined the ELD Initiative in May 2022. What he does  As co-coordinator, Johannes is responsible for the strategic and operational coordination and management of the initiative, including donor relations, partner management, ELD governance, strategic exchange and policy dialogue, internal and external commun Background  Before joining ELD, Johannes worked as a policy advisor to the environment division of the German development ministry and coordinator of the BMZ Green Value Initiative – Natural Capital in Africa. He has extensive experience with integrating the value of nature in decision-making and policies in partner countries, development banks, and accounting systems. He holds a Master’s degree in Sustainability Economics and Management and a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics.

Mark Schauer

Position  ELD Co-Coordinator Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Mark re-joined the ELD Initiative in January 2024. What he does  Mark is co-responsible for ELD’s external relations, among others the communication with partners and donors, strategic exchange and policy dialogue, dialogue with potential partners and partner countries and resource mobilization. Background  Mark holds a master’s degree in Forest Management from the University of Göttingen, Germany. After his graduation and gaining hands-on experience in forest management, he worked in Europe, southern Africa and southern Asia on natural resource management and nature conservation, focusing on this issue's interconnectedness with development, poverty alleviation and institutional support programmes. He re-joined the ELD Secretariat in January 2024 after spending some years in a Forest Landscape Project with GIZ in Rwanda. Before joining GIZ, Mark worked for UNEP, the German Federal Ministry for Environment and the Forest Service. Mark’s work has for a long time been focused on coordinating projects which link economic and ecologic issues, providing economic information for better decision making in the context of sustainable ecosystem management.

Annika Westen

Position  ELD Project Manager Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Annika joined the ELD Initiative in March 2025. What he does  Annika primarily works on knowledge management, network, the science-policy interface, communications and capacity development. Background  Annika is a Development Economist and before joining ELD she supported the GIZ Sector Project Private Sector Engagement. She holds a Master’s Degree in Development Economics, a BA in Economics and brings expertise in evidence-based policy design, empirical methods as well as monitoring and evaluation.

Sven Braulik

Position  ELD Project Manager Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Sven joined the ELD Initiative in January 2025. What he does  Sven is primarily focusing on the development of the Economics of Rangeland Report in preparation for the Conference of the Parties 2026 in Mongolia. Background  Before joining ELD, Sven worked as a policy advisor with the GIZ Global Project ‘Rural Employment with Focus on Youth’. The first ten years of his career in development cooperation Sven has spent in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Cambodia supporting different GIZ projects such as on Sustainable Economic Development and Rural Development. He is experienced in working with the private sector and governments towards an improved business climate, upgrading value chains and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, promoting employment and increasing income. Sven holds a Master’s Degree in Southeast Asian Studies.

Julia Davidson

Position  ELD Project Manager Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Julia joined the ELD Initiative in January 2026. What he does  Julia is primarily focusing on the Rio synergies, supporting the development of a new methodology to foster cooperation between the three Rio Conventions. Background  Before joining ELD, Julia worked at GIZ in various programs focusing on nature conservation, gaining professional experience in Chile, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Paraguay, and Mexico. She completed a postgraduate degree in International Cooperation for Sustainable Development and holds a master’s degree in Political Science and Geography.

Malin Marienfeldt

Position  ELD Intern Location  ELD Initiative Secretariat, Bonn, Germany With ELD since  Malin joined the ELD Initiative in November 2025. Background  Malin comes from a background in regional studies and political science. Before joining ELD, he worked as an assistant in political interest representation in Berlin, where he gained hands-on experience in policy analysis, stakeholder communication, and the monitoring of legislative processes at both national and international levels.