WHEN NATURE CAN DO THE JOB

Henrique is head of the Biodiversity Conservation research group at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and professor at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. His research revolves around patterns and processes of global biodiversity change, including monitoring schemes and future scenarios for biodiversity and ecosystem services. He was a coordinating lead author of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Methodological Assessment on Scenarios and Models of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the fourth Global Biodiversity Outlook. He is an elected member of the Academia Europaea.

Jette is a professor in environmental and resource economics at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on the interaction between human and nature – analysed through economics. She has in particular done research on the valuation and regulation of biodiversity, forestry and climate change. She was a member of the Danish Council on Climate Change from 2015 to 2023, and is currently vice-chair of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change.

Sven is principal scientist at the Governance Programme of the European Forest Institute. His research addresses natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, livelihoods, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. In particular his work on Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and other incentives and business models for enhancing the provision of ecosystem services has rendered him one of the world’s most cited scientists in the field of economics and business.

Jens-Christian is a professor of ecology at the Department of Biology at Aarhus University and director of the newly established DNRF Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO). His influential work on the effects of climate change on biomes and biodiversity, human-environment interactions across historical and future contexts, and ecological restoration through rewilding has been recognised by numerous international awards.

Wouter is a co-founder of the conservation NGOs ARK Nature and Rewilding Europe, which have overseen hundreds of rewilding initiatives. The Gelderse Poort programme has successfully rewilded 5,000 ha around the top of the Dutch Rhine delta, including the removal of dozens of dams and the relocation of 10 farms and 50 households. The area receives today >1.5 million visitors per year.

Iris is a professor of geography at the Trinity College of Dublin. She is a coastal geomorphologist who investigates how the interactions between physical and biological processes shape coasts, particularly in the intertidal zone. She uses these insights to develop integrative solutions for a coastal environment in which people are protected from flooding and erosion whilst also taking advantage of the many benefits healthy ecosystems and dynamic coastal landforms have for humans.

An is a professor of international and European environmental and biodiversity law at Ghent University. Her research covers ecological restoration law, and topics such as EU protected area law and the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. She is a member of the European Environmental Law Forum and of the IUCN World Commission on environmental law, and chairs the Legal Working Group on Restoration of the Society for Ecological Restoration Europe (SERE).

Jan is the Secretary General of the Flemish Environment Council, and vice chair and working group lead on ecosystem services at the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EAAC). He was also a personal advisor on nature policy to the Flemish environment minister from 2004 to 2009.

Ariel is Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia with the environmental NGO BirdLife International. He is widely recognised as prominent expert on the environmental impacts of EU farm policies. He has chaired DG Agriculture’s Advisory Group on Agriculture and Environment and has been a member of its Expert Group on Public Goods, and of the European Commission’s High-Level Steering Group on the European Innovation Partnership on agriculture. In recent years, he has played a leading role in advocacy around the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the NatureAlert campaign to defend and achieve better implementation of the EU nature protection legislation