Maxim Vergeichik is Senior Nature economist and Head of Private Sector Engagement at UNDP Nature Hub since 2022. Maxim leads a team working with private sector and regulators on business nature risks and opportunities. His team covers policy development and market creation nature-intelligent investment. It covers work on nature-related corporate target setting, disclosures, macro-level and sector-level regulations, nature-related debt instruments, and nature markets such as biodiversity credits.
Previously, Maxim oversaw a grant portfolio worth over $100 in annual budgets working in Europe and Central Asia on biodiversity, sustainable land management and climate initiatives. The initiatives he designed contributed to avoiding deforestation and promoting forest restoration at over 5+mln ha; restoring and sustainably managing rangelands at over 1+ mln ha; promoting sustainable food production at over 35 mln ha; restoring and conserving over 3 mln ha of temperate and tropical peatlands and improving the status of over 40 mln ha of high conservation value terrestrial and marine habitat under protected area in 18 countries.
Between 2004 and 2007 Maxim served as a Global Coordinator for the Program of Work on Protected Areas under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, planning and distributing financial assistance to 34 least-developed countries and small island development states focused on protected area management.
Before that, Maxim worked as head of environment programs at UN country offices in Belarus, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He began his career in climate and biodiversity-focused civil society organizations, including work for the UK’s Royal Society of Protection of Birds on restoration and sustainable management of temperate peatlands.
Maxim is resident of Slovakia, holds a BA from the University of Falmouth, MSc. in economics from Minsk State University, and MSc. in Management of Technology from University of Boulder.