International Cosmos Prize Champions of the Earth Julia Carabias Lillo (born August 11, 1954, Mexico City) is a Mexican ecologist and Environmental Conservationist.

In 1982, she was asked by the Governor of Guerrero—one of Mexico's poorest states and one highly impacted by environmental destruction—to develop a plan to improve local standards of living, while conserving natural resources in the area.

[5] In 1992, Carabias was on the team that published the report For Earth's Sake during the United Nations sponsored Conference on the Environment and Development in Brazil.

[8] She also doubled the region of Mexico's protected areas to more than six percent, which had the effect of safeguarding species like the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) of Baja California, the manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the jaguar (Panthera onca) of Yucatán.

[9] In particular, she worked with former United States Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, focusing on land and resource management of deserts along the US-Mexico border.

[14] In 2017, Carabias was awarded the Mexican Belisario Domínguez medal, a recognition granted by Mexico's Senate to recognize outstanding citizens for their service to the country and humanity.

[15] From 2001 to 2014, she served as the president of the Biodiversity and Environmental Interdisciplinary Center (CEIBA, Centro Interdisciplinario de Biodiversidad y Ambiente, A.C.),[16] a nongovernmental organization dedicated to bringing together researchers and specialists to promote the analysis, design, and implementation of public policies around conservation.

[17] On 1 February 2022, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador pointed out that the permits granted to Vulcan Materials Company to exploit the Calica quarry in Quintana Roo were issued on Carabias' last day as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.

[18] The company has been accused of the overexploitation and eventual devastation of about 400 to 500 hectares (4.0 to 5.0 km2) of the national territory,[18] including deforestation and the destruction of cenotes and the water table.