Download Short CVs of the speakers

Keynote Presenters, Plenary Presenters and Chairs
Beate Jessel
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel is President of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Germany. In this position, her
main tasks include researches in the field of nature conservation and landscape development on national level,
informing the public and enhancing public participation in nature conservation issues, etc. She gained her MSc in
Landscape Architecture, Technical University Munich-Weihenstephan, and PhD in Landscape Planning and
Agriculture, Technical University Munich-Weihenstephan. During 1999-2006 she held the Chair for Landscape
Planning in University of Potsdam. During 2006 and 2007 she was the Chair for Strategies of Landscape Management
at the Technical University Munich-Weihenstephan. Her special fields of expertise are environmental impact
assessment, strategies of landscape development and land-use planning, watershed and water resource
management, theory formation in the field of ecologically oriented planning.
Jacqueline McGlade
Jacqueline McGlade is a marine biologist and environmental informatics professor. Her research focusses on the
spatial and nonlinear dynamics of ecosystems, climate change and scenario development. She is the former Executive
Director of the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Hartmut Graßl
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany
Hartmut Graßl is Director emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, and retired Professor for
General Meteorology at the Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg. He was former Director of the
World Climate Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Geneva (Switzerland), and former
Chair of the Global Change Advisory Council to the German Government.
Chris Thomas
University of York, UK
Chris Thomas is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of York and was elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society in July 2012. His research focuses on the ecological and evolutionary impacts of human activities on
biological systems. He is particularly interested in the recent and potential future impact of climate and land use
changes on the distributions of species, on population- and species-level extinctions and the development of
conservation strategies that will be appropriate and robust in the context of climate change.
Katrin Böhning-Gaese
Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt, Germany
Prof. Katrin Böhning-Gaese is interested in community ecology, macroecology and conservation biology with a focus
on birds and large mammals. She received her training at the Universities of Tübingen, New Mexico and the Max
Planck Institute for Animal Physiology. She is currently professor at the Goethe University Frankfurt and director of
the Biodiversity and Climate Research Center. Her focus is on basic research on the relationship between biodiversity
and climate at ecological and evolutionary time scales. At the same time these questions are inspired by and feedback into society in general. Katrin Böhning-Gaese is member of a variety of decision boards and advisory panels, for
example the Fachkollegium Zoologie, or the Senatskommission für Biodiversitätsforschung of the DFG
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Micheal O’Briain
DG Environment, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Dr. Micheal O'Briain is Deputy Head of the Nature Unit of DG Environment in the European Commission, where he
has worked on a range of nature and biodiversity policy issues since 1992. Micheal has played an active role in the
establishment of the NATURA 2000 network under the Habitats and Birds Directives and currently co-ordinates work
on financing and management of Natura 2000. He also co-ordinated work on wind energy and nature conservation as
well as on climate change and Natura 2000. Prior to working in Brussels he was national director of the Irish partner
of BirdLife International.
Klement Tockner
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, IGB, Germany
Klement Tockner is Director of the Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries and full professor for
Aquatic Ecology at the Freie Universität Berlin. He is Adjunct Senior Scientist at Eawag and Titulary Professor at ETH,
Switzerland. He has special expertise on freshwater biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and river and wetland
restoration and management. He currently coordinates the EC‐funded project BioFresh and is member of several
scientific committees including the research panel for Water Research of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and
also the crosscutting group on freshwater biodiversity of DIVERSITAS and GEO‐BON.
Jana Poláková
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), UK
Jana Poláková has knowledge of interrelationships between land use, EU soil/water/biodiversity trends and rural
development policies. She is also involved in IEEP’s work on the relevance of agricultural management for EU climate
policies. Her recent research involves projects on agriculture and soil and water management and the effectiveness
of policy measures for delivery of biodiversity. Before joining IEEP in 2010, she worked for three years in the
European Commission, DG Environment, focusing on environmental integration including biodiversity and climate
change in the CAP. In her earlier career in the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, she oversaw the
portfolio of biodiversity projects supported by EU structural funds.
Volkmar Hartje
Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Volkmar Hartje is Professor in the field of Land Use and Environmental Economics at the Technical University Berlin.
His research interests are amongst others: Environmental economics and policy analysis of environmental policy with
emphasis on water and nature protection policy; Economic evaluation of environmental costs and benefits applied to
climate change; to the protection of riverine wetlands, biodiversity in forests and Use of economic instruments in
environmental policy and analysis of governance structures.
Andras Báldi
Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
András Báldi is a conservation biologist interested in the ecology and conservation of farmland biodiversity, especially
in grasslands. His research addresses patterns of biological diversity of various taxa across Europe, in landscapes with
different management history and intensity, and with different political history. Recently his interest turns to the
study of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services, like pollination. Báldi is the general director of
the MTA Centre for Ecological Research, president of the Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section, and
member of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.
Gordana Beltram
Park Skocjanske jame, Slovenia
Gordana Beltram was appointed the Director of the Public Agency Park Škocjanske jame, Slovenija in January 2010.
She is responsible for the strategic planning and management, conservation and sustainable development as well as
promotion of the Škocjan Caves Regional Park as a whole, and Škocjan Caves as a World Heritage and Ramsar Site,
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nationally and internationally. Between 1997 and 2009 Gordana Beltram was working at the Slovenian Ministry of the
Environment on international biodiversity issues, being responsible for the implementation and coordination of
several biodiversity related conventions. She was involved in different international committees (inter alia chairing
the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention between 2002 and 2005 and the Supervisory Council and Board of
Association, Wetlands International between 2008 and 2011), organisations and conventions related to nature
conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. During the Slovenian Presidency to the EU she was chairing
the EU biodiversity group at the European Council (WPIEI-Biodiversity).
Michael Bender
Grüne Liga e.V., Germany
Michael Bender manages the Water Policy Office of the German environmental NGO GRÜNE LIGA with focus on the
protection of aquatic ecosystems.. He has been coordinating water related positions of German NGOs regarding the
EU-Water Framework Directive including respective daughter directives and their implementation into German Law.
He has been active in the water working group of the EEB since 1998. Michael Bender coordinates the water working
group of the Forum on Environment and Development.
One of the main international topics is the human right for water and sanitation. Michael Bender is an observer in the
International Elbe Commission and was a Chair Persons of the successful 2011 Berlin Water referendum.
Aletta Bonn
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Aletta Bonn is co-organiser of the ENCA/BfN conference. As research fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin, BerlinBrandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, and at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
UFZ, Department of Economics, her research focusses on ecosystem services, participatory conservation, global
change and peatland ecology. With extensive experience in applied conservation and research management she has
worked for IUCN UK (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the Peak District National Park and at the
University of Sheffield. Recent projects include the co-coordination of a Valuing Nature Network and the Naturkapital
Deutschland - TEEB DE initiative.
Franz Essl
Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Austria; Austrian Environment Agency
Franz Essl is an ecologist working at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Environment Agency. He is interested
in the impact of climate change on the distribution of biota and the resulting consequences for nature conservation,
in causes and patterns of biological invasions, and in the processes governing diversity patterns of species and
habitats.
Rob Jongman
Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Dr Rob Jongman is a leading expert in Europe in the field of nature conservation planning, ecological networks and
green infrastructure. Since 1990 he developed the concept of ecological networks at the European level as a new
strategy for biodiversity conservation and nature planning in Europe and in other continents. He has been involved in
a large number of projects on nature conservation planning and ecological networks in Europe. He is co-lead of GEO
BON, the Group on Earth Observation Biodiversity Observation Network. He is involved in many EU research projects
in the field of biodiversity, land management and biodiversity observation and planning and has communicated these
with internationally.
Timo Kaphengst
Ecologic, Germany
Timo Kaphengst is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, where he serves as the coordinator of biodiversity and forest
research. Focusing on environmental economics, he addresses international and European biodiversity policies, the
impacts of land use and land use change, and biomass use for energy generation. Timo is particularly interested in
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the sustainable use of natural resources and how it relates to biodiversity conservation and climate policy. His
projects at Ecologic Institute have covered a wide range of topics, including economic assessments of ecosystem
services and the possible design of an international land use policy. Timo Kaphengst studied landscape ecology and
nature conservation at the University of Greifswald.
Horst Korn
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Horst Korn is trained as an Ecologist in Germany, the US and Canada and has previously worked in the industry (ITDepartment of a steel factory) and as a professor for wildlife management and conservation at the National
University of Costa Rica. Presently he is heading the Biodiversity Unit and the interdisciplinary working group on
Biodiversity and Climate Change at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. He is also Germany’s
National CBD-SBSTTA Focal point and the Chair of the European Biodiversity Platform (EPBRS).
Christian Körner
Universität Basel, Switzerland
Christian Körner is a Professor of Botany at the University of Basel since 1989. He received his academic training in
Innsbruck, Austria. Alpine plant ecology, forest ecology and plant environment interactions such as the influence of
elevated CO2 or low temperature on plants are his main research interests. For this conference his two Springer
books 'Alpine Plant Life' and 'Alpine Treelines' are of particular relevance. Christian Körner chairs the Global
Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) of DIVERSITAS.
Ingo Kowarik
Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Ingo Kowarik is a Professor of ecosystem research and plant ecology at the Technical University of Berlin. His research
focusses on urban ecology, ecology of biological invasions, nature conservation and vegetation ecology. He is
Coordinator of the European Group on Biological Invasions NEOBIOTA and member of the Scientific Committee of
DIVERSITAS Germany.
Maria Laamanen
Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), Finland
Maria Laamanen is Professional Secretary of the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM. She specializes in monitoring and
assessment of the Baltic Sea marine environment, eutrophication, protection of biodiversity and nature conservation.
She considers herself to be in effect a knowledge broker on the Baltic Sea marine environment between the scientific
and policy making communities. In her opinion, best decisions are based on sound knowledge and good
understanding of underlying phenomena. And science can back-up best outcomes for both the environment and
people of the Baltic Sea region. She has a PhD in hydrobiology and is Adjunct Professor of aquatic sciences of the
University of Helsinki.
Nicholas Macgregor
Natural England/ European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA)
Nicholas Macgregor is principal specialist in landscape ecology at Natural England and chair of the ENCA Interest
Group on Climate Change. He is an ecologist interested in conservation strategies, with a particular focus on
adaptation to climate change and on large-scale conservation and ecological networks. Previous roles included
working as a policy adviser on climate change adaptation at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs. He studied at the Australian National University an ecologist trained at the and the University of Cambridge.
Mike Morecroft
Climate Change Natural England, UK
Mike Morecroft leads on climate change adaptation and mitigation at Natural England, the government conservation
agency for England. His work ranges from developing the science, to advising on the development of conservation
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policy and practice. He is an ecologist with over 25 years’ experience of research into the impacts of environmental
change on biodiversity and ecosystems and has published on a wide range of topics in the field. Mike is actively
involved in developing adaptation in the UK, including contributing to the new National Adaptation Programme. He is
a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University.
Jan Plesnik
Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protrection of the Czech Republic
Dr. Jan Plesnik is Director Adviser at the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of Czech Republic.
Further, he is the Czech CBD SBSTTA National Focal Point.
Sven Rannow
Leibniz Institute for Ecological Urban and Regional Development, HABIT-CHANGE project
Dr. Sven Rannow is an academically qualified engineer in landscape planning focused on the field of spatial
development and resource management. During the last years, he has been working at different European
universities and research institutes. Sven Rannow was involved in several research projects related to climate change
adaptation, covering issues like national impact assessment, adaptation of spatial development on regional and local
level. He was awarded a Marie-Curie Fellowship in 2004 and the Research Award of the School for Spatial Planning at
the TU Dortmund in 2011. Since 2010, Dr. Rannow is coordinating the EU project HABIT-CHANGE (www.habitchange.eu).
Mark Reed
University of Birmingham, UK
Dr Reed is Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Research at the Centre for Environment & Society Research at
Birmingham City University. He is Research Manager for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s
(IUCN) UK Peatland Programme. He researches knowledge exchange, stakeholder participation and the value of
nature. He has played a leadership role in research worth £9.5M and published >50 peer-reviewed articles since
gaining his PhD from the University of Leeds in 2005. His work with colleagues on Payments for Ecosystem Services
has fed into UK Government policy and he is leading the development of a UK Peatland Carbon Code. Find out more
about his work at: www.markreed.webeden.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @lecmsr
Klemens Riha
Programme „Implementing the Biodiversity Convention“; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
(GIZ), Germany
Klemens Riha is technical advisor in the sectorial programme “Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity
CBD” at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ. His work focuses on the interfaces
between biodiversity and climate change, in particular the design and implementation of biodiversity safeguards for
REDD+ and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) approaches in international development cooperation. Previously he
has worked on issues of sustainable land management in the context of the UN Convention on Desertification and
Drought UNCCD. He holds a Master’s degree in Geography of the University of Vienna, Austria, and has extensive
international work experience in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific region.
Gianluca Sarà
University of Palermo, CIRCLE-Med Research Programme, Italy
Gianluca Sarà (Ph. D., 1994) is Associate Professor of Ecology at University of Palermo (Italy) and coordinates the
Laboratory of Experimental Ecology and Eco-mechanics of the Department of Earth and Marine Science. He obtained
his PhD in 1994 at University of Messina (Italy) discussing a thesis dealing with bioenergetics and growth
performance of cultivated bivalves in the Mediterranean Sea. He is member of the IPCC expert panel of new AR5
2013 and Honorary Professor at University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on the effect of anthropogenic
influence and climate change on marine ecosystems and the study of structures and ecosystem functioning through
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its influence on the rates of synthesis of biological structures, chemical compositions, energy and material fluxes,
population processes, species interactions, and thereby biodiversity.
Jutta Stadler
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Jutta Stadler is the organizer of the BfN/ENCA conference. Since 1997 she has been working as a scientific advisor in
the Biodiversity Unit of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). During these years she has been
organizing several workshops on nature conservation and climate change as well as on other biodiversity issues at
the International Academy for Nature Conservation Isle of Vilm. Hence, she was also part of the organizing team of
the European Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change held in Bonn in 2011. Additionally, Jutta Stadler is part
of the German delegation in meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Rob Stoneman
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Rob’s first foray into the world of peatlands was as a geography undergraduate at the University of Liverpool, moving
onto the University of Southampton to study the palaeoecology of lowland raised bogs in relation to climate change
in the later Holocene. From there, Rob switched to a nature conservation career, initially developing a strategy to
conserve Scotland’s lowland raised bogs and then as Chief Executive of three British Wildlife Trusts: Sheffield,
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and now Yorkshire. He has maintained an active interest in peatland conservation
and currently chairs the Yorkshire Peat Partnership and the IUCN-UK National Commitee Peatland Programme.
Franziska Tanneberger
Universität Greifswald, Germany
Franziska Tanneberger is based at the Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology at Greifswald University, Germany.
She works on fen mire ecology, fen biodiversity, the climate relevance of peatlands, and peatland restoration,
particularly within voluntary carbon schemes. She has contributed to various mire research and conservation projects
in Germany, Russia, Belarus, and Poland.
Marina von Weissenberg
Ministry of Environment, Finland
Marina von Weissenberg serves as the IUCN Regional Councillor for West Europe and the National Focal Point for the
Convention on Biological Diversity in Finland. She has been working at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment for the
last 18 years as an expert in policy and biodiversity.
Clive Walmsley
Countryside Council for Wales, UK
Clive Walmsley is Environmental Impacts Advisor at Natural Resources Wales. He leads work on climate change and
related environmental change issues. He has contributed to production of guidance on climate change adaptation for
biodiversity with the UK Biodiversity Partnership and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Clive is also Director of
Outreach for the Climate Change Consortium for Wales which is coordinating research and communicating climate
change related science to policymakers, business and the education sector. He is a member of the Climate Change
Commission for Wales. Clive trained as a botanist at University of Bristol, and undertook ecological research,
specializing in plant ecology and the restoration of coastal plant communities, while studying for his Ph.D. at the
University of East Anglia.
Gian-Reto Walther
Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Dr. Gian-Reto Walther is a biologist and member of the Swiss Academy of Sciences. He works at the Species and
Biotopes Section at the Swiss Federal Agency for the Environment, and is associate academic at the University of
Bayreuth.
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Georg Winkel
Universität Freiburg, Germany
Georg Winkel is Assistant Professor at the Forest and Environmental Policy Group, Institute of Social Environmental
Sciences, University of Freiburg, Germany. He has a background in forest sciences and received both his MSc and PhD
from the University of Freiburg. His research interests are the analysis of biodiversity, climate and forest policy at the
international, European and national level, with a specific focus on EU forest and biodiversity policy. His special
interest is policy analysis, policy change research, and the application of constructivist discourse theories and
methods. Moreover, he is interested in interdisciplinary research approaches targeting at the “environmental
question” in forestry and forest policy. In addition to teaching and research, he gives policy advice to different
governmental and non-governmental organizations. In 2011, he had a ten month research stay (DFG research
scholarship) at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley,
where he conducted field research on forest policy change in the US Pacific Northwest. Georg Winkel is currently
coordinating several research projects, amongst them the collaborative European research project “European Beech
Forests for the Future”, where an international research teams analyzes political, ecological and economic
dimensions of the EU’s land use and biodiversity policies, focusing on beech forests.
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