He has worked as a research professor at the Center for Environmental Quality (ITESM) and as an adjunct research scientist for the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation of the
Earth Institute at
Columbia University, in the
United States. As a conservationist, Enkerlin has worked for several
NGOs and co-founded
Amigos de la Naturaleza and
Pronatura Noreste before joining the National Commission on Protected Areas by presidential appointment. During his tenure, Mexico increased its protected area coverage by almost 50% adding over 8 million hectares in different protected area categories and also became the country in the world with the most international protected area designations which it holds to this date (2015). CONANP incorporated 26 new sites to the
World Network of Biosphere Reserves and received recognition for over 125
wetlands of international importance under the
Ramsar Convention. Enkerlin was also involved in negotiating and launching the first international agreement on
wilderness signed by the governments of Canada, United States and Mexico in November, 2009,
Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation for Wilderness and Protected Areas Conservation and in establishing the first wilderness area in Latin America. Enkerlin coined the concept of "avocado landscape" for the main production regions in Mexico and as part of "The Path to Sustainability" recently adopted by the avocado growers association (2024, APEAM). Formerly, Enkerlin was the Leader of the Legacy for Sustainability (ITESM); chair,
World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA-IUCN); Scientific President for Pronatura, Mexico's largest conservation NGO; and board member of the Global Institute for Sustainability (ITESM) and Fundación Coca-Cola. He is a retired Professor of Ecology and Sustainability from Monterrey Tech and has been dedicated to his family's sustainable vineyard and winery since 2016. He is the brother of notable Mexican entomologist
Walther Enkerlin. == Awards==