
Karol B. Barragán-Fonseca
Karol Barragán received her bachelor´s degree in Veterinary Medicine in 2002, and in 2005 her MSc in Biological Sciences. She has worked in situ and ex situ with conservation and sustainable wildlife production systems. Since 2008, as a professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL), she has developed an interest in insects as feed and food, and is convinced that insects are a high-quality source of nutrients that may be produced with a low environmental impact, thereby contributing to reducing climate change while alleviating food crises and rural poverty. Karol founded the Terrestrial Arthropod Research Laboratory at UNAL in 2012, and received her PhD in this field in 2018 at Wageningen University (WUR). Currently, Karol is an Assistant Professor; cofounder of EntoPro, a UNAL spin-off company; and coordinator of the Insects for Peace initiative to promote social transformation through insects.
Title of keynote presentation:
Science for Peace: socio-economic impact of organic waste conversion by black soldier fly larvae in post-conflict areas