Ximena Vélez Liendo

{{short description|Bolivian biologist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Ximena Vélez Liendo

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|3|7|df=y}}

| birth_place = Oruro, Bolivia

| alma_mater = Higher University of San Simón, Bolivia

| known_for = Research on the coexistence of Andean bears and humans

}}

Ximena Vélez Liendo (born 7 March 1976, Oruro, Bolivia) is a Bolivian conservation biologist whose work focus on the ecology of the Andean bear, known as jukumari in aymara language, and its conservation in Bolivia and the rest of South America.

She is Principal Researcher at joint project between the grassroots NGO, PROMETA,{{Cite web|date=2017-05-19|title=An uphill climb: enabling coexistence of Andean bears and farmers in the Bolivian mountains|url=https://whitleyaward.org/winners/uphill-climb-enabling-coexistence-andean-bears-farmers-bolivian-mountains/|access-date=2022-02-20|website=Whitley Award|language=en-GB}} which has listed the species as vulnerable,{{Cite web|title=The bears and the bees: How honey is helping to save the spectacled bear|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-bears-and-the-bees-how-honey-is-helping-to-save-the-spectacled-bear/ar-AASUUaF|access-date=2022-02-20|website=MSN|language=en-US}} Chester Zoo (Chester, United Kingdom), the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology (Oxford, United Kingdom) and the Alcide D'Orbigny Museum (Cochabamba, Bolivia).{{Cite web|title=Bear Specialist Group|url=https://www.bearbiology.org/bear-specialist-group/|access-date=2022-02-20|website=International Association for Bear Research and Management|language=en-US}}

Ximena has been co-chair of the Andean bear Expert Team, Bear Specialist Group International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2007.{{Cite web|title=Dr Ximena Velez-Liendo {{!}} WildCRU|url=https://www.wildcru.org/members/dr-ximena-velez-liendo/|access-date=2022-02-20|language=English}}{{Cite web|title=South America's only bear species is under threat|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/world/gallery/south-america-bear-gallery-c2e-spc-intl-scn/index.html|access-date=2022-02-20|website=CNN}} In 2017, she received the Whitley Award from Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).{{Cite web|date=2017-05-17|title=Whitley Award donated by the Savitri Waney Charitable Trust - winner Ximena Velez Liendo, Bolivia|url=https://whitleyaward.org/2017/05/17/whitley-award-donated-by-the-savitri-waney-charitable-trust-winner-ximena-velez-liendo-bolivia/|access-date=2022-02-20|website=Whitley Award|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|title=El País - Noticias Tarija Bolivia - Ximena Velez-Liendo gana premio Whitley|url=https://www.elpaisonline.com/index.php/noticiastarija/item/255177-ximena-velez-liendo-gana-premio-whitley|access-date=2022-02-20|website=www.elpaisonline.com|language=es-es}}