July 13, 2020
Rili has worked for over 25 years to improve the management and financial sustainability of marine protected areas and reduce the use of unsustainable fishing practices in Southeast Asia. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Coral Triangle Center (CTC), a learning center of excellence on coastal and marine resources management based in Bali. The programs focus on strengthening local leadership and capacity through an integrated portfolio of Marine Protected Areas learning sites, customized training programs and learning networks, and facilitation of public private partnerships in the Coral Triangle region.
Rili worked for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) from 1995-2011 collaborating closely with communities, governments, NGOs, private sector, bi-and multilateral agencies. Rili led an innovative financing and collaborative management initiative in Komodo National Park with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. She established TNC’s Coral Triangle Center program in Bali in 2000 and served as TNC’s Country Director for Indonesia from 2004-2008. She was a member of the core team that facilitated the roadmap towards the launch of the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI- CFF). Rili was appointed the TNC Coral Triangle Program Director in 2009 and focused on government and partner relations in the Asia Pacific region. She worked closely with the Conservancy to launch the CTC as an independent regionally-based nonprofit in 2011. CTC is an official partner to CTI-CFF providing training and connecting local stakeholders across the Coral Triangle region. Rili holds a Master of Science degree in tropical marine ecology from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands and a Master of Science in tropical coastal zone management from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in United Kingdom. She has extensive diving experience in the Netherlands, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asia Pacific.