Speakers

Sarah Adams is a communications expert at EFI Mediterranean Facility. She leads communication and dissemination activities in H2020 projects and for EFI’s Mediterranean Network. She is currently focussing on developing new techniques and tools for science-communication, collaborating on EFI’s science-media initiatives and giving training on communication and presentation skills. She has broad experience managing international projects for NGOs in education, medicine and marine conservation. She has a Bachelor’s degree in French and Hispanic Studies and a postgraduate degree in Secondary Education. Presentation

Esko Aho served as Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995 and as a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2003. He is currently Executive Chairman of East Office of Finnish Industries, representing the leading Finnish corporations in Russia, and a Consultative Partner at Nokia Corporation. Mr. Aho serves as a member of the Executive Board at the International Chamber of Commerce and is an invited member of the Club of Madrid, an independent organisation of former heads of state and government dedicated to strengthening democracy. He is Executive in Residence of Aalto University in Helsinki and Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he pursues research on the changing role of the state in maintaining welfare and global competitiveness. He is EFI's Strategic Advisor on Europe-Russian cooperation.

Ricard Armengol is a Pharmacist by training and CEO of Provital Group, a company specialised in developing active ingredients for the cosmetics industry, mainly derived from botanical sources. Currently, he is President of Unitis (European Organisation of Cosmetic Ingredients Industries and Services). He was President of the Spanish Society of Cosmetic Chemists (2005-2008) and member of the Scientific Committee of the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) (1998 to 2004). Provital has a long tradition in working with natural products and developing supply chains in different countries of the world. In 2017, Provital was the first cosmetic ingredients supplier worldwide to achieve compliance with the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol for a specific R&D project. This project has been recently recognised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as an example for sustainable development. Presentation

Joachim Englert is Founder of SocialForest, a social enterprise dedicated to forest management and forestry work. The main focus of SocialForest lies in the training and social integration of unemployed youngsters at risk of social exclusion, with the organisation offering forestry services for private, as well as public institutions, in Catalonia and Germany. Previously he was a forest engineer working for various organisations in Catalonia, Germany and Brazil, He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering and postgraduate degree in Social Enterprise and Landscape Development. Presentation

Christine Farcy is a senior researcher, invited lecturer, and international forest policy advisor. Her expertise are in forestry, national and international forest policy, forest planning, remote sensing, information systems, bridge between social and natural sciences, and science and policy cross-fertilisation. She is currently, among others, the chair of the European Forestry Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the vice chair of the board of the European Forest Institute (EFI). She holds an MSc in agricultural engineering (forest and water) at University of Louvain (UCL) (1994) and a PhD in agricultural sciences and biological engineering at UCL (2005). Presentation

Elena Kulikova is the Coordinator of the Young Leadership Programme, and Senior Expert in the Bioeconomy Programme at the European Forest Institute. Elena has over 20 years’ experience in sustainable forest management, forest governance and law enforcement as well as capacity building and training projects and programmes, including  those related to Russia and Eastern Partnership countries. Before her current position, Elena was a Head of Forest Programme at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Russia. Prior to this, she was a Head of Division in the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, and a Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation in the Federal Forestry Service of the Russian Federation. She has been also an Associate Professor in the Moscow State Forest University, Russia. Presentation

François Lefèvre is senior scientist at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and former director of the multidisciplinary research unit Mediterranean Forest Ecology (URFM) from 2005 to 2013. He is president of the Commission on Forest Genetic Resources and corresponding member of the French Academy of Agriculture. Trained as a geneticist, he has worked on tree breeding and conservation of forest genetic resources. His current research focuses on the impacts of management on forests’ adaptive capacity within a trans-disciplinary framework of social-ecological approaches. He has been involved in multiple EU projects for more than 20 years and currently coordinates the ERA-Net research project "INFORMED: INtegrated research on FOrest Resilience and Management in the mEDiterranean". Presentation

Francisco Lozano is Innovation Manager at Arauco, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. Arauco’s mission, over the past 40 years, is to be a world leader in sustainable development of forest products. During this time, Arauco has become one of the biggest forest companies globally, with a focus on innovation alongside environmental and social responsibility and clients in 75 countries worldwide.

Inazio Martinez de Arano is Head of Office at EFI Mediterranean Facility since June 2013. He was previously Executive President at the Union of Foresters of Southern Europe (USSE), where he was involved in the analysis of forest-related policy developments at European and global levels, and the evaluation of the potential effects of policies and regulations on Mediterranean and South Atlantic forests and forestry. Mr. Martinez has wide experience working in a network organisation and with various stakeholders. He was the coordinator of forest research and a researcher at the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research (NEIKER) as well as a university lecturer in the University of Concepción, Chile. As President of the European Institute for Cultivated Forests (IEFC), he was involved in the establishment of the EFI Atlantic Regional Office. Presentation

Lluis Martínez de San Vicente is CEO of Resinas Naturales. The company manufactures and markets products derived from pine resin, transforming natural resources from pines into various products with high added value and excellent quality. Previously he was Co-Founder and Managing Director at MAREV Engineering and has been Project Engineer for various companies in the automotive industry. He completed an MBA at the European Business School in Austria, with an exchange semester at the University of Manchester. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master’s in Automotive Engineering.

Giorgio Mosangini is Team Leader of Green Entrepreneurship & Civil Society at the UN Environment - Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production. He has 20 years’ experience in the International Development Sector in the Mediterranean and Latin America. He has been involved in projects covering various thematic areas, such as green entrepreneurship, civil society strengthening, local and rural development, sustainable development, gender and women rights and food security. He is author of several publications and methodological guides on Evaluation, Sustainability, Decentralised Cooperation or Social Communication. He holds a BSc in Political Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Master in Development Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Specialist in Impact Assessment. Presentation

Bart Muys a full professor of forest ecology and management at KU Leuven (elected Europe’s most innovative university by Reuters in the last three years), where he is leading the forest nature and landscape division. His work of the last two decades focused on sustainability evaluation of forests and bioenergy systems. Recently he worked on climate change mitigation by forests and wood products, the role of biodiversity for ecosystem services, and the restoration of tropical dryland and montane forests. He published over 300 scientific journal articles, and is mentioned as an essential science indicator (1% most cited scientists) in the domains of environment, agriculture and multidisciplinary research. He holds a PhD in forest science from the University of Gent, 1993. Presentation

Marc Palahí is the Director of the European Forest Institute and responsible for leading the organisation towards an acknowledged pan-European science-policy platform. Previously he led EFI’s policy support activities and during this time was instrumental in launching ThinkForest, a European high-level science forum on the future of forests. He has also worked as Head of EFI’s Mediterranean Facility, EFIMED. He has a PhD in forestry and economics and an MSc in forestry engineering.

Nicolas Picard is the secretary of the Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions-Silva Mediterranea, a statutory body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that aims at facilitating exchanges and cooperation related to forestry between Mediterranean countries. He has 20 years of experience on the management of tropical dry and rain forests, mostly in Africa, with successive positions in research institutions of Mali, Gabon and Cameroon. He holds an accreditation to supervise research (HDR) in biology from the University of Montpellier and a PhD in forest sciences from AgroParisTech, France. Presentation

Elena Pisani is Senior Researcher and Assistant Professor in Principle of Economics and Essentials of Project Planning and Evaluation. She has an extensive research experience grounded on several international, national and regional applied research projects. Her research focus includes social innovation in marginalised rural areas; social capital and local governance in rural development projects; the development of innovative M&E methods, tools and indicators; participation in rural development initiatives; design of rural development strategies in poor and marginalised areas; and analysis of LIFE projects based on network approaches. She teaches several courses at the University of Padova and has undertaken various research activities in Latin America. She is member of Doctoral School "TARS-LERH"of the TESAF Department and works as an external proof-reader in several international scientific journals. Presentation

Arnau Queralt is Director of the Advisory Council for the Sustainable Development of Catalonia since October 2011. He coordinates the Plan for the implementation of the SDGs in Catalonia and is Chair of the network European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils since January 2015. He is observer to the European Commission high-level multi-stakeholder platform on the implementation of the SDGs in the EU and a member of the Global University Network for Innovation expert group on higher education and SDGs.  In the past, he was director of Patronat Català Pro-Europa, member of the board of the University Institute of European Studies (UAB), secretary general of CTecno Private Foundation; and president of the Catalan Association of Environmental Professionals. He has a BA in Environmental Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, a Master in Public Management from ESADE, and a Diploma in European Studies from the Diplomatic School of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Presentation

Octavi Quintana is a Medical Doctor, specialised in Intensive Medicine, MPH University of Columbia. He is the Director of Málaga Hospital and Deputy Director of INSALUD. He is President of the Spanish Society for Healthcare Quality and President of the European Council Bioethics Committee. He is Vice-President of the EC Ethics European Group and Director of International Affairs for the Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare. He coordinates humanitarian aid in Rwanda, Burundi, Bosnia, Kosovo. He is Director for scientific programmes on Spanish television (TVE2) and Director of Scientific Research in the European Commission in Health, Energy and European Research and is Director of the PRIMA Foundation. Presentation

Kathrine Raleigh is Head of Programmes and Contents for the Sant Pau Private Foundation. She supports the various organisations housed in Sant Pau’s UNESCO World Heritage site to promote and communicate high social-impact projects in relation to the environment, health, education and culture. She also coordinates the Foundation’s participation in the UN Global Compact and Biosphere Responsible Tourism, in order to share learning in relation to the sustainability and energy efficiency criteria used in the restoration and management of historic buildings. In past positions, Kathrine has led workshops and seminars on strategic planning for sustainable development in collaboration with The Natural Step International and a global community of practitioners. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master’s in Social Aspects of Environmental Management from the University of Barcelona. Presentation

Pier Paolo Roggero is professor of Agronomy and Crop Science since 2000, teaching at the University of Sassari, Italy from 2006. He was President elect of the Italian Society of Agronomy from 2008-2011 and Director of the Desertification Research Centre, University of Sassari (2007-13, 2016-18). He is Member of the Italian, European and American Societies of Agronomy and Member of the editorial board of the “Italian Journal of Agronomy”, PagePress (ISI/Scopus) and “Ecological processes”, SpringerOpen (Scopus). He was Member of the PhD board of professors, Agricultural Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche and a is currently serving as Member of the PhD course board of professors, Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari since 2007. Presentation

Eduardo Rojas-Briales is Chair of the Spanish Board of Foresters and professor of Silviculture, Afforestation and Forest Genetics at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Previously he held the position of Assistant Director-General and Head of the Forestry Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  He also acted as UN Commissioner General for Expo Milano 2015. Dr. Briales has been on a number of boards and panels including the EFI Scientific Advisory Board. He holds a PhD from Polytechnic University of Madrid. Presentation

Metodi Sotirov is Senior Researcher & Assistant Professor at the Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg, Germany and Faculty Associate with the Governance, Environment and Markets Initiative, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University USA. His academic research investigates political, socio-economic and psychological drivers of policy and institutional change, policy integration in a system of multi-level governance, and foresight for sustainable development. He has served as consultant and policy expert to international forest sustainability reports for FOREST EUROPE / FAO / UNECE, delivered expert inputs to the EU Standing Forestry Committee, DG Environment and DG Agriculture of the European Commission, and supported EU-level expert groups on EU Timber Regulation / FLEGT, Natura 2000 and Forests, Forest Protection and Forest Monitoring in Europe. He holds a Ph.D. in Forest and Environmental Policy Studies as well as M.Sc. in Sustainable Forest Management. 

Sven Wunder is Principal Scientist with the European Forest Institute, (EFI); Senior Associate with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); and Honorary Professor at University of Copenhagen. His work over the last three decades has centred around forests and natural resource management, development economics, incentive policies for forest conservation (such as payments for environmental services), deforestation, and forest-poverty linkages. Has published 10 books and over 100 academic articles and book chapters. He has appeared each year between 2014 and 2017 in Thomsen-Reuters/ Clarivate’s “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” list of most cited scientists. He has advised both small-scale NGO initiatives and government programmes, especially in Latin America, on development and design of forest incentive instruments. Presentation

Gavriil Xanthopoulos is a forest fires researcher and head of the Forest Fires Laboratory at the Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization "Demeter". He has been active in European forest fire research for more than 25 years, and in parallel acted as advisor to the General Secretary of Forests and Natural Environment, to the Minister of Public Order and to the General Secretary of Civil Protection in Greece. He has extensive experience in forest fire management training and post-graduate university teaching. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Wildland Fire and of the UNISDR Wildland Fire Advisory Group. He holds a B.Sc. in Forestry from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Forestry with specialisation in Forest Fires from the University of Montana, U.S.A. Presentation