Speakers 12.12.2023

Susana Barreiro is assistant professor at School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon, since April 2019. Lecturing Forest Inventory, Forest Models and Applied Operations Research, she has continued researching in the fields of modelling and simulation of forest dynamics under changing conditions. Over the past few years, a stronger emphasis on the integration of the impacts of (a)biotic disturbances (wildfire and pests) into management-driven simulation tools and on the adaptation/improvement of these tools toward the simulation of mixed species-stands, with the constant aim of bridging the gap between research and practice through the active involvement of stakeholders.

Dr. Johannes Breidenbach is a Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) and head of department of the Norwegian National Forest Inventory (NFI). His background is in forestry and forest monitoring utilizing remotely sensed data, including airborne lidar and optical satellites.

Dr. Breidenbach's primary research focus lies in enhancing statistical methods for informed policymaking, with a particular emphasis on large-scale forest attribute mapping through remote sensing. His work combines technology with ecological insights to advance our understanding of forest ecosystems and their dynamic characteristics. Apart from his research endeavors, Dr. Breidenbach is actively involved in numerous national and international research projects which includes the coordination of the Horizon Europe project PathFinder. He also contributes to the scientific community as a dedicated reviewer and organizer of conferences, sessions, and workshops.

As a Steering Group member of the European Network of National Forest Inventories (ENFIN) and an Associated Editor for the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Dr. Johannes Breidenbach contributes to the future development of forest monitoring and biometrics.

Humberto Delgado Rosa is the Director for Biodiversity, DG Environment, European Commission. Previously he was Director for Mainstreaming Adaptation and Low Carbon Technology in DG Climate Action. He is experienced in European and international environmental policy, particularly in biodiversity and climate change issues. He served as Secretary of State for the Environment of the Portuguese Government from March 2005 to June 2011. Between 1995 and 2002 he was an advisor for environmental matters to the Prime-Minister of Portugal. He holds a PhD in Evolutionary Biology. H. Delgado Rosa was born in Lisbon in 1960.

Martin Herold is a Professor and section head (Remote Sensing and Geoinformation) of German Helmholtz Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam, Germany. Since his PhD (2004), he has been working on the large-area monitoring of land dynamics integrating satellite and ground-based data streams from a scientific and user needs perspective. Martin has published more than 270 scientific papers, is in the top 1% cited scientists in the field, enjoys supervising PhD students and supporting capacity development initiatives, and has acted as a lead author of the 2019 IPCC Good Practice Guidelines refinement.

Robert Mavsar is the Director of the European Forest Institute, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic development of the Institute. With a strong international track record spanning over 25 years, he specializes in forest research development, bioeconomy, economic valuation of ecosystem services, and innovative business models for forest products. He holds a PhD in economics and an MSc in forestry.

Lucia Perugini is an LULUCF and Carbon Farming expert at the European Environment Agency.  She has a PhD in forest ecology with scientific background in forestry and climate change. She has been involved  in several European research projects related to the carbon cycle in forestry and agriculture ecosystems, climate change mitigation policies in the LULUCF sector and relevant links between the scientific and policy communities. She is expert in GHG inventories in the land sector and she has collaborated in the compilation of the Italian National Inventory Report. Between 2003 and 2022 she has been involved in the UNFCCC negotiations, providing technical and scientific support to the Italian delegation on issues related to the land sector.

Helga Pülzl is Assistant Director for Policy Support of the European Forest Institute and responsible for the Policy Support Facility and its Trust Fund. Her main research interests are in European and international forest governance and policy change, bioeconomy perceptions and sustainability indicators development. She coordinates the IUFRO Working Party 9.05.01 on bioeconomy policy and holds a Phd and master’s degree in political science from the University of Vienna.

Dr. Hans Verkerk is principal scientist in the Bioeconomy programme of the European Forest Institute (Finland) and he leads a team on climate-smart forestry. He holds a MSc degree in Forest and Nature Management from Wageningen University and obtained his PhD degree with distinction from the University of Eastern Finland. He has been involved in studies on European forest resource assessments, woody biomass availability, forest ecosystem services and climate change impacts and mitigation.