Kathy MacKinnon (28 February 1948 – 18 March 2023) was a zoologist committed to conservation who worked with many governmental organisations and NGOs.
[2] MacKinnon spent a decade working in the field on tropical ecology in Indonesia and became recognised for her knowledge and expertise.
She was the lead biodiversity specialist at the World Bank for 16 years (1994–2010), and led the consideration of conservation within all development programmes.
[4] She was a member of the leadership of Wetlands International from 2011 until 2021 and encouraged the organisation's involvement in the conservation of peatlands.
[2][3] MacKinnon co-chaired the IUCN WCPA Specialist Group on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures with Harry Jonas from 2016 to 2023, which included securing a decision by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity that sets out a definition and criteria for identifying OECMs.