Antonio holds a PhD in Ecology (University of Almeria 2009) and is a Catedrático de Universidas (Full Professor) of Ecology at the University of Almería. He is an ecologist by training and a sociologist by passion—ultimately, a social-ecological systems scientist. His research centers on understanding and addressing conservation conflicts, with a broader interest in the complex and evolving relationships between people and nature. He aims to explore the ecological, economic, and psychological dimensions that shape conservation efforts and sustainability outcomes. Since 2024, he leads the Sustainability, Resilience, and Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems Lab (SociECOS Lab). He also serves as an Affiliated Faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University, a role I have held since 2018.

His academic journey is international and interdisciplinary. As a Ph.D. student, he conducted research as a visiting scholar at the Laboratorio de Análisis Regional y Teledetección (LART) at the University of Buenos Aires under Dr. José Paruelo (2006–2007). He was later awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Charles Sturt University in Australia, collaborating with Dr. Gary Luck (2010–2011), followed by a research appointment at VU Amsterdam in the Netherlands with Dr. Peter Verburg (2011–2012). In 2011, he moved to the United States, where he spent over six years. He first worked as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Oklahoma with Dr. Caryn C. Vaughn (2012–2015), before joining Idaho State University as an Assistant Professor (2015–2018), where he founded the SociECOS Lab. Currently, he serves as an Associate Editor for Ecology & Society, People & Nature, and the Journal of Arid Environments. From 2018 to 2022, he was a Lead Author of Chapter 3 of the IPBES Values Assessment, contributing to the development of diverse valuation approaches. He also an active member of the new Society for Social-Ecological Systems (SocSES).

Antonio J.

Cristina holds a PhD in Applied and Environmental Sciences (University of Almeria 2016) and currently is a Ramón y Cajal Researcher at the University of Almería. She has an environmental science background and has a master’s degree on Global Change monitoring and Assessment. Her research is focused on the analyses of complex social-ecological systems, specifically with an interest on how people relate and interact with nature. She leads different projects under the umbrella’s concept of biocultural diversity, exploring how culture and biodiversity are interlinkages and how cultural dimension can shape and drive sustainability. Additionally, she is interested in the incorporation of gender approaches in science, and is a member of 

, a collective of women researchers who develops participatory, transdisciplinary and feminist approaches to address sustainability problems.

At academic level, she developed her Ph.D. thesis in collaboration with the Social-Ecological Systems Laboratory at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and at the Centro Andaluz para el Cambio Global - Hermelindo Castro (ENGLOBA) at University of Almería (UAL). She has a wide and extensive international experience as a predoctoral researcher (e.g., visiting researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Center in Sweeden and she was awarded buy a predoctoral fellowship at the Ciudad de Panamá in Panamá). After finishing her Ph.D., she moved to the United States, as a postdoctoral researcher at Idaho State University (2016–18), and later to Germany as a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems at Kassel University (2018-21). In 2020 she got a Postdoctoral Research Grant of Junta de Andalucía and move to the UAL; later in 2021, she was awarded by a Marie Curie Fellowship at the UAL, where she was the PI of the 

Social-ecological pathways and gender perspectives for future conservation of biocultural mountain agro-ecosystems

 (2021-23) and later she was awarded by an EMERGIA postdoctoral grant where she led the 

Fostering social-ecological resilience to preserve biocultural diversity in rural Spain

Currently, she is a Ramón y Cajal Researcher and lead a research line focusing on Analysis of social-ecological systems and biocultural diversity. She is the PI of the EmBraCe project on “Evaluating biocultural diversity and social-ecological vulnerability for conserving rural areas in Spain”, funded by the Convocatoria de Generación de Conocimiento 2022. She also serves as an Associate Editor for Ecosystems & People and is an active member of the new Society for Social-Ecological Systems (SocSES).

Cristina

Juan Miguel holds a PhD in Applied and Environmental Sciences (2015) from the Centro Andaluz para el Cambio Global – Hermelindo Castro (ENGLOBA) at the University of Almería, as well as a Master’s degree in Global Change Assessment and Monitoring (2012). He is a quantitative ecologist with an academic path marked by a strong interdisciplinary and international orientation, bridging the ecological, computational, and social dimensions of challenges driven by Global Change. Following his doctoral studies, he embarked on a postdoctoral journey that led him to several leading research institutions in the United States, including Idaho State University, Boise State University, and the University of Michigan. During this international stage, he was also awarded support through the prestigious Microsoft AI for Earth program, furthering his efforts to apply machine learning and open data to pressing global environmental issues. These experiences strengthened his expertise in remote sensing, socio-ecological systems, and cutting-edge modeling techniques applied to environmental challenges.

In 2021, he returned to Spain as a recipient of a prestigious María Zambrano Fellowship for the Attraction of International Talent, where he expanded his research into the intersections of human, animal, and environmental health. He currently leads the AdapGreenAI project as the sole Principal Investigator at the University of Almería, exploring the use of artificial intelligence to develop sustainable solutions for intensive agriculture.

Alongside his research, Juan Miguel contributes to undergraduate and graduate teaching in Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, and Natural Resources Management. His academic career is complemented by active involvement in knowledge dissemination, public outreach, and open science. He has participated in collaborative research projects across Europe and the United States, contributed to scientific committees and editorial boards, and taken a leading role in organizing international and national conferences. He currently serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Global Environmental Change Advances, reinforcing his commitment to advancing high-quality research and scientific communication.

With a deep commitment to education and mentorship, he has supervised students at various academic levels and supported the training of the next generation of environmental researchers. In recognition of his scientific contributions, he received the San Alberto 2023 Research Award from the University of Almería for the highest-impact publication in Environmental Sciences. His professional trajectory reflects a consistent dedication to interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and the advancement of sustainability science.

Juan M.

Daniela holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering by the Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá-Colombia (2012-2017), during which I completed a 5-month academic exchange at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza-Argentina (2016). Subsequently, she earned a European Master's degree in Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services from the University of Almeria (2018-2019), receiving the Extraordinary Master's Award for the best academic records in 2018-2019 academic year. In 2019, I began working as a research assistant in the LIFE project “

Restoring desertified areas with an innovative method of tree cultivation across the Mediterranean border to increase resilience

” led by the Andalusian Centre for Global Change - Hermelindo Castro at the University of Almeria. In 2020, I joined the Sustainability, Resilience and Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems Group (Sociecos), where she pursued a PhD funded by the University Teacher Training (FPU 2019) grant. Her thesis, titled "

Understanding conservation conflicts from social-ecological perspectives: analysis of cases in the Iberian Peninsula”

, was awarded the distinction of Outstanding Cum Laude with International Mention (October 2024).

Her PhD research employed social-ecological systems science to understand and manage conservation conflicts, considering the environmental justice perspective. During the PhD, she undertook two research stays, totaling four months, at the Social-Ecological Systems Institute, a European research center at Leuphana University, Germany (2022 and 2023). Her research outcomes include a total of 8 scientific articles published in recognized international journals and one chapter in 

The Routledge Handbook of Cultural Ecosystem Services.

Currently, her research focuses on wildlife interactions, conservation conflicts, and human dimensions of conservation, aiming to integrate social and ecological perspectives to enhance biodiversity conservation strategies. Since January 2025, she has been working as a postdoctoral researcher on the project “

Evaluating biocultural diversity and social-ecological vulnerability for conserving rural areas in Spain (EmBraCe)

Daniela

Enrica Garau holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Sassari, Italy (2011–2014), and a European Master's degree in City Planning and Policies from the same university (2014–2016). In 2018, she completed a Master's in Management of Protected Areas at the Autonomous University of Madrid. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science from the Department of Geography at the University of Girona (UdG) in 2022. Her PhD research focused on human-nature relationships through a social-ecological lens, exploring perceptions, values, and mental models that influence freshwater resource management and landscape planning policies.

In 2022, she joined the SociECOS Lab at the University of Almería (UAL), and the Centro Andaluz para el Cambio Global - Hermelindo Castro (ENGLOBA), as a postdoctoral researcher within the EU-funded project 

“BONEX: Boosting Nexus Framework Implementation in the Mediterranean”. 

She currently holds a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship at UAL. Her research focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of urban nature, particularly on perceptions, values, preferences, and mental models in semi-arid urban contexts. The goal of her research is to inform the design of socially accepted urban nature spaces that enhance social-ecological resilience and human-nature connections in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

Over the past three years, her academic journey has enabled her to establish a wide network of collaborations and participate in international research initiatives, such as the PECS Working Group and the YESS network. She has expanded her research network through active participation in national and international research projects and research stays at prestigious European institutions, such as the University of Kassel (Germany), the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Sweden), and the Social-Ecological Systems Institute (Germany). These opportunities have enhanced her interdisciplinary expertise in urban and environmental planning.

She has presented her research in different national and international conferences through oral and poster presentations, earning awards for best presentations at the XI Congreso Ibérico de Gestión y Planificación del Agua and the 3rd ESP Europe Conference. She has also co-chaired sessions at the 5th ESP European Conference (Wageningen, Netherlands, 2024) and the Spanish Ecology Society Conference (2023), where she also contributed to local coordination efforts.

Enrica 

Mónica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Extremadura (2011) and a Master’s degree in Genomics and Evolution from the University of Granada (2013). She completed her PhD in Ecology at the University of Granada in 2018 (International Mention) as a predoctoral fellow at the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC, Almería). During her PhD, she carried out two international research stays at the Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC-CNRS, France), where she received advanced training in physiological ecology, including hormone quantification and laboratory techniques.

Her early research focused on behavioural and evolutionary ecology, particularly the ecology of fear, brood parasitism, and the effects of predation risk and human disturbance on bird behaviour, physiology and reproduction. Building on this foundation, her postdoctoral research progressively expanded towards biodiversity conservation, marine ecology and socio-ecological systems.

In 2019, she joined the Sustainability, Resilience and Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems Group (SOCIECOS, University of Almería), where she contributed to research on human–wildlife coexistence and conservation, including a highly cited synthesis on human–carnivore relations in the American West (Environmental Research Letters, 2019). She subsequently worked on the ECOSER project 

“Contribution of marine ecosystem services from protected natural areas to human well-being”

, assessing how marine ecosystem services delivered by protected areas contribute to human well-being and management, and strengthening her expertise in mixed-method approaches that combine ecological information with stakeholder-based assessments.

From 2022 to 2024, she contributed to applied conservation initiatives and science–society engagement in marine contexts, including the EU LIFE SeaBiL project 

 at the University of Cádiz. This work focused on marine litter and seabird conservation, with particular emphasis on plastic pollution and the use of seabirds as sentinels of environmental change within collaborative, multi-actor project settings.

In parallel, she is actively engaged in science communication and public outreach, participating in environmental education activities, citizen-focused events and dissemination actions related to biodiversity conservation, marine litter and human–nature relationships.

Currently, her research focuses on marine litter, conservation conflicts and the human dimensions of conservation, aiming to integrate ecological evidence with social perspectives to support more effective biodiversity conservation strategies. Since September 2025, she has been working as a postdoctoral researcher on the Biodiversa+ project emBrace 

“Reconciling Food Systems Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation in Multifunctional Protected Landscapes”

 at the University of Almería. In this project, she supports the Spanish case study through the development and implementation of participatory and mixed-methods research, contributing to the understanding of social–ecological dynamics in multifunctional protected landscapes and to identifying pathways that reconcile biodiversity conservation with sustainable food systems.

Mónica 

Irene holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Navarra and a Master’s degree in Biodiversity Conservation, Management and Restoration from the University of Granada. She is currently a PhD student in the Applied Environmental Sciences program at the University of Almería, funded by a predoctoral fellowship (FPI) from the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía). Her doctoral research is supervised by Dr. Antonio J. Castro and Dr. Cristina Quintas-Soriano.

Her doctoral project focuses on the conservation of biocultural diversity in Spanish rural agroecosystems. She adopts a mixed-methods approach that has been combining systematic literature reviews, the development of a spatial index using online data, and participatory fieldwork—including interviews, surveys, and community workshops—to better understand how different generations perceive and engage with biocultural diversity in their rural landscapes.

As part of her academic training, Irene has carried out international research stays at the University of Western Australia (Perth), working with Prof. Graeme Cumming on remote biocultural diversity mapping, and at the University of Turku (Finland), collaborating with Dr. Nora Fagerholm on the participatory mapping of biocultural diversity. These experiences have broadened her methodological perspective and strengthened her commitment to interdisciplinary research in social-ecological systems.

Irene’s research interests include biocultural diversity, socio-ecological systems, landscape values and traditional knowledge. She is particularly driven by a desire to explore the emotional and cultural connections between people and nature, and how these connections influence conservation attitudes and decisions. Her work aims to inform more inclusive and effective conservation strategies that integrate local knowledge, intergenerational perspectives, and participatory governance.

Born and raised in Arazuri, a small village in Navarra, Irene’s passion for nature and science was nurtured from an early age. This personal connection with rural landscapes continues to inspire her work. She believes that science must serve people and nature alike, and she is committed to building stronger bridges between research, policy, and society.

Irene 

Youssra holds a master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Tetouan (2018) in Morocco. Later, she got a master degree in Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Ecosystem services at the University of Almería (2020) and developed her research practices at the SociECOS lab of lead by Prof. Dr. Antonio J Castro. During her master’s training she gained valuable knowledge and skills on the understanding of the social-ecological systems and the interdisciplinary assessment of ecosystem services.

Specifically, in her Master thesis entitled “Exploring landscape values and preferences to understand human-nature connectedness across Spanish drylands”, she investigated how ecosystem services values and preferences associated to landscapes of Spanish drylands can be integrated to understand conservation conflicts.

Currently, she is a PhD student under a predoctoral contract at the UAL, where she works with the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Cristina Quintas Soriano on the EmBraCe project titled “Evaluating biocultural diversity and social-ecological vulnerability for conserving rural areas in Spain” funded by the Convocatoria de Generación de Conocimiento 2022 from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Youssra is developing her Ph.D. thesis on biocultural diversity in order to understand which practices, traditions and knowledge are linked to nature and promote the conservation of biodiversity in southern Spain.

Youssra

Álvaro holds a degree in Biology from the University of Granada (2023) and is currently enrolled in the Master’s program in Mediterranean Greenhouse Horticulture at the University of Almería. His passion for nature and ambition for sustainability are reflected in his long-term goal: contributing to the development of a sustainable territorial management model based on biodiversity conservation and the creation of a territorial identity closely connected to nature and its benefits.

During his studies, he collaborated with Prof. Dr. Francisca Ruano (UGR) and researcher Estefanía Rodríguez (IFAPA) in their research on semi-arid natural habitats surrounded by intensive crops, with a particular focus on the habitat remnants of 

 in the Campo de Dalías region (Almería). His main objective was to highlight the ecosystem services that these natural spaces offer to surrounding intensive agricultural landscape in order to foster synergies with conservation-driven measures. This line of research has been central to both his Bachelor's Thesis 

"Sentinel plant sampling to assess the effect of habitat proximity on biological control in protected horticulture."

"Biodiversity and biological control patterns"

Currently, Álvaro holds a research contract linked to the AdapGreenAI project, titled 

Bridging barriers in the adoption of an AI-powered pest early-warning network in greenhouses for Climate Change adaptation

, under the guidance of Dr. Juan Miguel Requena (PI). The project focuses on enhancing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies through AI-driven solutions to monitor pest populations in greenhouse environments. This project serves as the foundation for Álvaro's future doctoral thesis and connects him with the SociECOS Lab team.

Álvaro

Dr Sean Goodwin is a multidisciplinary researcher with a present research focus on urban climate change adaptation, nature-based solutions, and monitoring and evaluation. His research addresses pressing questions facing communities of research and practice at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity conservation, urban planning and social justice, such as, what does it mean to adapt to climate change “with nature” in cities and how will we know when we are adapting? His work with IMAGINE Adaptation focuses on answering these questions in relation to urban climate change adaptation, where the project has an explicit transdisciplinary focus in working with local actors in cities to improve the way they monitor, evaluate, and learn from their adaptation efforts to advance successful adaptation.

Sean

My name is Dainee Gibson, and I am overjoyed to join the Idaho Conservation League as a Conservation Analyst. I have dreamed of doing conservation work for as long as I can remember, and I feel so lucky to use my passion and skills to investigate climate change issues in Idaho.

I grew up on a family farm in rural Virginia, which established my appreciation for the natural world. From looking for white-tailed deer in the soybean fields to bird watching in the cow pastures, my childhood was marked by a desire to understand and preserve the environment around me.

A family road trip in the Rocky Mountains made me fall in love with this region, and I knew I would end up moving here from the southeast. After completing my bachelor’s degree in biology and sustainability science at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, I packed up my bags and finally moved out west to Pocatello, Idaho, where I obtained my master’s degree from Idaho State University.

My research at ISU consisted of using a social-ecological approach to identify conservation opportunities within the Portneuf River watershed. This experience immersed me in the state of Idaho, which I couldn’t bear to leave after graduate school.

At ICL, I will use my analytical skills to support our conservation programs. Working from the Boise office, I will be working with ICL’s climate team to help mitigate climate change in Idaho. I plan to combine my education in sustainability science and conservation biology with my background in agriculture to ensure conservation success in the state.

While I’ve spent the past few years living in both the eastern and western corners of southern Idaho, I am ready to explore more of the state! I’m always on the lookout for new animal species, and I never turn down an opportunity to see a moose.

Dainee

Adam 

Berta Martín López holds a degree in Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Ecology and Environment from the Autonomous University of Madrid. She is currently a professor in Sustainability Science at the Faculty of Sustainability at Leuphana University (Lüneburg, Germany). She is a member of the scientific committees of the ecoSERVICES program and the Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS), both affiliated with Future Earth, as well as the advisory board of BiodivERsA, the European network of funding organizations for biodiversity and ecosystem services research.

At the science-policy interface, she is heavily involved in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), currently serving as coordinating lead author of the chapter on ‘Nature’s Contributions to Quality of Life’ for the Europe and Central Asia assessment. In the field of sustainability policy, Berta also contributed to the review of the Sustainable Development Goals conducted by the International Council for Science (ICSU).

Berta

Research Scientist at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) at the Institute for Advanced Social Studies (IESA).

His research aims to integrate approaches developed by various disciplines, including both social and natural sciences, to understand the complex relationships between biodiversity conservation and other human activities that rely on natural resources. He is particularly interested in investigating conservation conflicts through a multidisciplinary framework in order to find solutions that help mitigate them and ultimately contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources. He is an invited member of the expert group on “Sustainable Use and Livelihoods” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and serves on the scientific committee of Future Earth (

 Miguel 

Mario holds a PhD in Applied Economics (University of Vigo, 2006) and is an Associate Research Professor at the CSIC Institute of Marine Research, where he has served as Head of the Department of Marine Ecology & Resources from 2023 to 2025. Previously he was associate lecturer and researcher at the University of Vigo, tenured scientist at the Spanish National Institute for Technology and Agricultural Research, and associate professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (currently on leave). His research areas fall within the field of environmental economics: environmental valuation and sustainable management of natural resources. His research has been applied to multiple environmental issues, such as energy, water, pollution, forestry, rural development, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, etc. He is (co)author of more than 70 papers in JCR journals such as Land Economics, Ecological Economics, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, World Development, Regional Studies, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Agricultural Economics, Forest Policy and Economics, Journal of Forest Economics, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Environmental Management, Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology, Landscape and Urban Planning, among others. His research counts more than 1300 citations (h-index=21 based on Scopus). He regularly acts as reviewer for international scientific journals and since 2022 is Academic Editor of ‘Plos One’. Currently, his research interests focus on the economic valuation of ecosystem services in coastal and marine ecosystems, and how the psychological, institutional, socioeconomic and home-site factors influence the behavior of people. Ongoing research projects focus on effects of climate change in coastal environments, marine renewable energy, vulnerable marine ecosystems, by-catch in Atlantic fisheries, and conservation programs in protected areas.

Mario

Caryn Vaughn is a stream ecologist interested in the connections between biodiversity and ecosystem function, and how properly functioning ecosystems benefit humans. Most of her work has focused on unionid mussels, a highly diverse and imperiled fauna that serve as hotspots of biological activity in many rivers. She received her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Oklahoma and conducted postdoctoral studies in marine biology at Rice University. She is currently synthesizing over 30 years of data on mussel functional traits, community change, environmental change and ecosystem processes to forecast future ecosystem function in rivers across a biogeographic region.

Caryn C.

Colden Baxter is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University. He grew up ranching, principally in northwest Montana, and received training in biology and geology (BA, Univ. Oregon), ecology (MSc, Univ. Montana), fisheries science and philosophy of science (Ph.D., Oregon State Univ.), and food web studies (postdoctoral fellowship, Colorado State Univ. & Hokkaido Univ., Japan). He leads the ISU Stream Ecology Center, directs the Center for Ecological Research and Education (CERE), is director of ISU's graduate programs in biology, and recently served as president of the Society for Freshwater Science.

Colden V.

Jodi 

I am a Professor of Sociology at Idaho State University (hired August 2013, tenured in May 2018). I received a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado State University in 2001 as well as an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 2007, both of which inform my work. I then completed a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 2013 and started as an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University in Fall 2013.

I study the reality that fundamentally, there will be trade-offs involved with any of the policy and other negotiations associated with climate changes. This also means that the fairness of the outcomes will depend on an intentional building of alliances, in which researchers come to understand how different communities establish values — including those related to socio-environmental sustainability. My recent work has focused especially on rural farming communities’ legal issues regarding water rights and how the policy process, and the built-in uncertainties in it, affects farmers as they make early-season decisions and prepare for future crop years.

I am also just starting a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project working with rural communities in the Pacific Northwest to see what they need to adapt to climate change. This work is occurring primarily in Umatilla County, Oregon, and involves working with collaborators at the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington as well as a local community group in Umatilla/La Grande called Oregon Rural Action. For this project, which involves testing and mapping nitrate contamination in the local aquifer, both environmental justice and government accountability is centered.

I am currently working on a project centered around climate grief/eco-anxiety, and the role climate projections make in both the decision-making and mental health of young people. In the past I also examined international variation in public opinion about climate change and noted that respondents from developed “richer” countries were less concerned about the effects of a changing climate than those living in less developed places in which subsistence farming was still common. If you are interested in participating in this project — as respondent or other — please let me know.

Trina

Amanda Jiménez Aceituno, work as a researcher 50% in Germany at Leuphana University Lüneburg and 50% in Sweden at Stockholm Resilience Centre. My background is on Environmental Sciences, and I transitioned to TD during my PhD, that I did at the Ecology Department on Environmental Education programs for biodiversity conservation in Spain and Costa Rica. Now I work on sustainable transformations of the food system in drylands, using a pathways approach to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. Co-designing with different actors positive futures that help change the current trends of food related systems is my main current passion.

Amanda

Victor Galaz is associate professor in political science at Stockholm Resilience Centre, and programme director of the Beijer Institute’s 

Governance, Technology and Complexity programme

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (COSUST)

, and Member of the Advisory Panel to the Inter-American Development Banks (IDB) programme 

 He is a Senior Advisor to the programme 

 that explores responsible uses of novel technologies to accelerate biodiversity conservation and regeneration in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the author of the book 

 about the impacts of artificial intelligence, digitalization and automation for the Biosphere, and regular contributor in Swedish media, including as a 

His research explores the political and governance challenges created by rapid global change, including globally networked risks, governance dimensions of “planetary boundaries”, the interplay between financial systems and Earth system dynamics, and the sustainability implications of novel technologies. Galaz's work about societal challenges created by technological change includes governance dimensions of geo-engineering, early warning systems of epidemic outbreaks, uses of social media to detect ecological change, online mis- and disinformation on environmental issues, and sustainability risks embedded in early applications of artificial intelligence.

Victor

Currently, Norström is the Science Director at the Earth Commission, while concurrently holding the position of Associate Professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and serving as a Science Committee member for the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society. These roles showcase his commitment to exploring the complexities of our planet's interconnected social-ecological systems and advancing sustainable solutions.

In his prior role, Norström served as the Head of Knowledge for the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), a collaborative effort comprising over 60 organisations that have joined forces to work together towards a world where people and places can persist, adapt and transform in the face of shocks, uncertainty, and change. The GRP secretariat is hosted by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University.


Norström's background is coral reef ecology, but his ongoing research areas are broad. His current work spans the Safe and just Earth System Boundaries (ESBs), assessing and operationalising resilience, transformation pathways towards sustainable futures, and gender and fisheries in the Global South.

, which is a suite of research activities that aim to solicit, explore, and develop a suite of alternative, plausible visions of “Good Anthropocenes” – positive visions of futures that are socially and ecologically desirable, just, and sustainable.

Norström served as Executive Director of Future Earth's Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) between 2011-2018. PECS integrates research on the stewardship of social–ecological systems, the services they generate, and the relationships among ecosystems, human wellbeing, livelihoods, inequality, and poverty.

Between 2018-2020 he served as the Deputy Director of the Guidance for Resilience in the Anthropocene: Investments for Development (GRAID) programme which was hosted by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Norström is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the Future Earth Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS), and a member of the UNFCCC Race to Resilience technical & methodological expert group.

Albert

Aguiar is a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and at the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE). Her research focuses on pathways to achieve the SDGs (UN Sustainable Development Goals), combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, with a focus on cross-scale participatory processes.

XPaths Project (Science in action: intersecting pathways to the SDGs across scales in drylands, one of the selected projects for the FORMAS “Realising the global sustainable development goals” program)

. This project addresses the critical issues of co-designing inclusive pathways towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a science-action research process in three critical dryland regions - Senegal, Brazil and Spain. The project will run from 2021 to 2023 aiming at advancing the knowledge on barriers and leverage points for the achievement of the SDGs through participative transdisciplinary processes operating at multiple levels, from local to global, as a means to connect global goals to local issues and aspirations.

Aguiar joined SRC in 2017 to contribute to the center activities around UN 2030 Agenda, mainly the global initiative TWI2050 - a global initiative which supports the policy process and implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of her key activities during this period was the development of an innovative pathways approach adapted to the context of the SDGs (Aguiar et al. 2021, Colste et al. 2020, Aguiar et al., 2019). Related to this work, she is currently part of the 

, a global modelling initiative aligned to TWI2050. The consortium's role at SRC is to organize the participatory process to co-design the new scenario narratives.

From 2016 to 2021, she contributed in multiple ways to the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), in particular as a Lead Author in IPBES Global Assessment launched in 2019 and as an expert in the scoping of the Nexus Assessment. She is also member of the IPBES Task Force in Models and Scenarios since 2019. She has also contributed eventually to IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) as a scenario expert.

Aguiar holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science (UNICAMP), MSc in Remote Sensing/Image Processing and PhD in Remote Sensing/Environmental Modeling (INPE). She has supervised a number of PhD and MSc students, working on various aspects of land use and cover issues, from local to regional scale, including deforestation, forest degradation, secondary growth vegetation dynamics, desertification and restoration. At INPE, she led the development of the open source spatially explicit modelling frameworks for land use change (

) and greenhouse gas emission estimates (

Ana Paula

I graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Applied Biology, from the University of Aveiro (Portugal). During this period, I joined the Wildlife Unit and the Bussaco National Forest Foundation with whom I did a curricular internship in which I studied the effects of invasive plant species and drought regimes in the macrofungi communities, which provided me with a useful experience with real implication on natural resources management.
Later on, I obtained a Master’s degree in Ecology and Environmental Management at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. In the MSc’s final year, I engaged a curricular internship in the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy with the theme: "Comparison of the Evolution of the Ocean Economy of Portugal, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom”. It was during this time that I started developing a strong interest in the way businesses work and learned a lot about the application of economic science in an environmental context across different countries.
More recently, I am a PhD student in the BioDiv PhD programme where I will be focused on the way how businesses integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services in the decision-making process in the Water-Food-Energy Nexus. During this time, I will continue contributing to the identification of practical resource management measures, keep in touch with the business sector, and continue the work of articulating these issues with policies and decision-making, especially in cross-sectoral and relevant topics that provide essential tools to achieve an economically sustainable society.

Patricia

I have a degree in Environmental Sciences. Master in Hydrogeology in arid areas. PhD in Applied Environmental Sciences. I was hired at CAESCG, doing research related to processes and methodological tools of science-management interface in the framework of socio-ecological systems governance. Since 2019 I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

My main area of research focuses on conducting inter- and transdisciplinary research to strengthen the links between science and other parts of society in order to advance the governance of social-ecological systems in different cultural, social and institutional frameworks. My motivation is to research so that scientific knowledge can be an engine of social learning and a driver of policy change to move towards sustainability.

María D.

Full Professor in the Department of Ecology and researcher at the Socio-Ecosystems Laboratory of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). She holds a degree in Environmental Sciences (2006) and a PhD in Ecology and the Environment (2011) from UAM. Since then, she has developed her career by integrating ecology, social analysis, rural development, and agricultural sciences.

She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in national and international institutions such as the University of Almería (2012), the University of Oxford (2012), and the Department of Social Analysis at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2013–2015) through the competitive Alianza 4Universidades program. Between 2015 and 2019, she worked at the Madrid Institute for Rural Development, Agricultural and Food Research (IMIDRA) under a competitive contract awarded by the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA).

Since then, she has pursued a line of research from a transdisciplinary perspective, bridging science, management, and practice. This approach has enabled her to combine socio-ecological and agroecological frameworks, deepening the analysis of ecosystem services in agricultural systems, the promotion of agroecology, inclusive social farming, and the implementation of open agriculture laboratories (Agrolab) aimed at revitalizing the agricultural sector and rural areas.

Marina

Christian is developing his doctoral dissertation on the analysis of protected areas from a social-ecological perspective. In particula his works has focused on developing a proposal for a socio-ecological evaluation framework for the management of the Arenillas Ecological Reserve, located in the province of El Oro, Ecuador. His research is based in response to the escalating global ecological crisis and mounting anthropogenic pressures—such as agricultural intensification, urban expansion, population growth, and increased tourism—this research adopts a socio-ecological systems perspective to examine the social, cultural, and emotional values that local communities associate with this protected area. His doctoral thesis is grounded in the premise that effective and sustainable conservation outcomes require more than ecological protection; they also demand a deep understanding of how people value and emotionally connect with nature.
His case study and research offers a compelling case study, not only because of its diverse landscapes and rich biodiversity, but also due to the historical and ongoing pressures on its natural resources—particularly its legacy of military management, which continues to shape local perceptions and governance dynamics.

Christian 

Europe’s rural landscapes are currently on an unsustainable path, shaped by unequal social and environmental dynamics that harm both biodiversity and human well-being. To address this, we need a major shift in European food systems toward more sustainable and localized models. These models should prioritize agroecological practices, fair value chains, and responsible consumption. At the same time, we must adopt inclusive conservation approaches to stop biodiversity loss, especially as traditional conservation methods often fall short, failing to protect biodiversity and disconnecting people from nature.

In this context, emBrace will support the development of multifunctional protected areas designed as NbS to bring together biodiversity protection and sustainable food systems. These NbS, rooted in principles of environmental justice and inclusivity, will aim to strengthen the relationship between people and nature. By doing so, they can inspire landscape stewardship actions that deliver mutual benefits for biodiversity conservation and sustainable food systems.

Through systematic data collection in emBrace’s four case studies, combined with social learning, knowledge co-production, action-oriented research, cross-cultural learning, and knowledge synthesis, emBrace aims to address key knowledge gaps: (1) How collaboration within landscape coalitions can help resolve trade-offs and conflicts among different stakeholders in multifunctional protected areas; (2) What are the potential benefits of integrating food systems and biodiversity protection within multifunctional landscapes; and (3) What are the effective ways to share and amplify successful approaches, driving meaningful and transformative change.

emBrace will implement an action-oriented research programme where academic partners work closely with non-academic actors to co-produce results. This collaboration is facilitated through Knowledge Hubs established early in the project in the four emBrace’s case studies (The Zwinstreek in Flanders, the Alpujarras in South Spain, Coeur de Condroz in Belgium, and Kristianstads Vattenrike in Sweden). emBrace will begin with participatory visioning workshops, using the Nature Futures framework to create shared visions of desirable futures. These workshops will set the stage for all project activities, which combine well-established methods with innovative techniques to promote social learning. emBrace’s findings will play an important role in supporting the European Green Deal by offering insights into how its components, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, can be better integrated. This is possible thanks to the interdisciplinary expertise of emBrace’s partners, whose diverse skills complement one another, and the variety of case studies involved. By using real-world labs, emBrace not only tests scientifically relevant theories but also creates opportunities for critical reflection and deeper insights, paving the way for meaningful progress.

Antonio J. , Castro

Juan M. Requena Mullor

Cristina Quintas Soriano

Reconciling Food Systems Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation in Multifunctional Protected Areas

The development of sustainable agricultural production systems is an urgent task identified by the UE for Climate Change adaptation. One key target is to reduce by 50% the use of pesticides by 2030. Embracing sustainable pest control practices, such as integrated pest management (IPM), is a frontline in the pursuit of Climate Change adaptation, as it reduces reliance on pesticides, promoting adaptive and environmentally friendly pest management strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods have emerged as extremely useful tools in advancing IPM strategies in greenhouse settings by automating tasks that have traditionally required human effort and expertise, such as pest monitoring. Early detection of pests both inside and outside greenhouses is crucial for comprehensive IPM strategies, as it allows farmers to implement timely and targeted interventions that prevent pest population outbreaks, thus reducing the reliance on pesticides. Through the oriented research modality, AdapGreenAI will advance IPM strategies by developing AI-driven solutions that efficiently monitor pests in greenhouse settings. While the application of AI  methods in greenhouses for early pest detection has made significant progress, unresolved key technological and socio-economic challenges persist. These challenges include the trade-offs between accuracy and computational requirements, along with divergences between research advancements and their practical implementation in real-world conditions. For example, the cost of installing AI systems is prohibitive and beyond the reach of smallholder farmers, who are largely unfamiliar with this technology. AdapGreenAI will advance AI technology challenges by training a free and open-source algorithm that will operate on minimal computational power. The AI-driven abundance data will be used to generate regionally modeled-based predictions of pest abundance. The project's uniqueness lies in developing a low-cost and scalable early-warning network of pest abundance based on a computationally efficient and affordable AI-driven counting algorithm. Furthermore, AdapGreenAI acknowledges the socioeconomic challenges related to AI implementation, particularly for smallholder growers, and to address this, it will bridge the digital divide by ensuring equitable access to AI-driven technology. This involves not only technological development but also identifying social barriers and opportunities through active engagement with diverse stakeholders, including greenhouse growers, cooperatives, and local institutions. In close collaboration with local stakeholders, the project will demonstrate the potential of AI methods by illustrating a scalable and cost-effective pest early-warning system and identify the stakeholder barriers and opportunities for its further development at the semi-arid coastal plain of south-east Spain, i.e., the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world. Aligned with several key priorities defined by the Horizon Europe missions (adaptation to Climate Change and social transformation for the digital transition) and the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology, and Innovation (food, bioeconomy, natural resources, and environment), the ultimate ambition of AdapGreenAI is to foster more resilient, cost-efficient, and sustainable pest control strategies that can adapt to the evolving environmental and societal challenges posed by Climate Change.

Antonio J. Castro

Enrica Garau

Álvaro Peláez

Overcoming Barriers to Implementing an AI-Based Pest Early Warning Network in Greenhouses for Climate Change Adaptation

Rural areas worldwide are responsible for global food production and host the largest share of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Between 24 and 38% of the Earth's land area is thought to be used for agricultural crops and pastures in rural areas. Previous studies have indicated that by 2050, cropland will increase by 23% and pastureland by 16%. These regions are responsible to provide key ecosystem services that maintain the well-being of local people (around 20% of the world’s population). However, important trajectories of land use change such as the rural abandonment of mountainous and less productive areas, and the land-use intensification of fertile areas are threatening these regions. These trajectories represent a serious threat to rural landscape in the Mediterranean region and raises serious decisions on how to reduce its impact on local communities.

Biocultural diversity is the notion that biological and cultural diversity are dependent on each other, and that biological diversity is managed, conserved, and created by different cultural groups. Agricultural landscapes are visibly shaped by human practices, and in these areas the relationship between nature and culture runs deep, where everyday practices and traditions have coevolved with the environment over millennia. This is especially true in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes in rural regions where the traditional management of the land have endured over millennia. However, these landscapes depend on human interventions and currently are threatened by their abandonment, driving by migration to more urban areas, intensification processes, or aging of population, having a direct impact on the human well-being of local communities.

EmBraCe will help to uncover and determine methodologies to evaluate, quantify and measure biocultural diversity, as well as their linkages with human well-being.The specific research questions are: using a suite of case studies from rural areas in Spain 

(A) What are their levels of social-ecological vulnerability? 

(B) What is the status of their biodiversity? 

(C) How social and cultural values are connected to biodiversity? 

(D) What is the status of biocultural diversity, and how does biocultural diversity related to specific ecosystem services and human well-being components? and, 

E) Which alternative strategies and actions can foster social-ecological resilience of biocultural diversity in the face of increasing agricultural intensification and land abandonment?

To this end, EmBraCe will conduct both an interdisciplinary approach (i.e., biodiversity assessment, socio-cultural valuation, and biocultural modelling) and transdisciplinary process to identify strategies for activating knowledge co-creation and active participation of local communities in preserving biocultural diversity. The overarching goal of EmBraCe is to 

provide innovative solutions for the preservation of rural areas in Spain through the conservation of biocultural diversity

 and the promotion of well-being of local communities. To do this, we propose four specific objectives aimed at addressing the previously described working hypotheses:
1. To map and assess the level of social-ecological vulnerability in rural areas in Spain and to identify a suite of rural case studies for an in-depth investigation of biocultural diversity.
2. To sample and quantify biodiversity and their associated local ecological knowledge across selected case studies.
3. To assess social and cultural values underpinning biocultural diversity through social-cultural approaches and gender analysis.
4. To develop an integrative analysis to model biocultural diversity and co-produce with stakeholders’ collective strategies for future rural conservation in Spain.

Daniela Alba Patiño

Youssra El Ghafraoui

Evaluating Biocultural Diversity and Socio-Ecological Vulnerability for the Conservation of Rural Areas in Spain (EmBraCe)

Ensuring sustainable food systems requires vastly reducing its environmental and health costs while making healthy and sustainable food affordable to all. In current food systems many of the costs of harmful foods and benefits of healthful foods are externalized, i.e. are not reflected in market prices and therefore not in decision making of actors in food value chains. Solving the externality problems means to determine current costs of externalities and redefine food prices (true pricing) to internalize them in daily practice. Policy makers, businesses and other actors in the food system, lack sufficient information and knowledge to internalize externalities to achieve a sustainable food system. The recently started Horizon Europe Project FoodCost (spans from 2022 – 2026) responds to this challenge by designing a roadmap for effective and sustainable strategies to assess and internalise food externalities. FOODCoST provides approaches and databases to measure and value positive and negative externalities, proposing a game-changing and harmonised approach to calculate the value of climate, biodiversity, environmental, social and health externalities along the food value chain based on economic cost principles.

FOODCoST provides an analytical toolbox to experiment, analyse, and navigate the internalisation of externalities through policies and business strategies providing tools and guidance to policy makers and businesses to assess the sustainability impact of their internalisation actions. MAGNET CGE model is an important element in the FoodCost integrated toolbox as it can provide a broader macroeconomic assessment of the impact of policies effective in internalizing externalities.

Cynthia Gianocavo

Antonio J. Castro Martínez

FOOD – Costing and Internalisation of Externalities for System Transition

BONEX project aims to provide practical and adapted tools, examine concrete and context-adapted technological innovations, enhance policies and governance and facilitate 

WEFe Nexus practical implementation that balances the social, economic, and ecological trade-offs.

With this purpose, the project aims to produce a novel, robust, transdisciplinary, and diagnostic WEFe Bridging Framework (named WEFeF) to serve the production of context-specific Nexus Bridging Plans (NBPs). These NBPs will be concise and practical context-specific plans guiding the transdisciplinary implementation of the proposed WEFe solution approaches targeting policy makers and practitioners. NBPs will consist of context-adapted strategies to implement WEFe solution approaches and create an enabling environment in their regard.

Within BONEX, WEFeF will be implemented and validated in 7 Demonstration Projects (DPs) in the MedRegion. NBPs will be built in a participatory way with the active involvement of local actors that will be engaged in Regional Working Groups (RWGs). As a result, BONEX will provide policymakers and practitioners with an interactive decision-making tool to evaluate trade-offs and synergies and nexus solutions approaches in a transdisciplinary manner. WEFeF modules will be strengthened with the development a Water Accounting Tool: REWAS.

Boosting Nexus Framework Implementation in the Mediterranean

Rural areas as places where culture and nature have a deep linkage, coevolving together, and creating biocultural diversity refugia. This is truly true in the Mediterranean agricultural landscapes where traditional management of the land have endured over millennia. However, rural areas are currently threatened by their abandonment, driving by migration to more urban areas, intensification process, or aging population.

There is an urgent need to promote economically and environmentally viable alternative in rural regions, while exploring the future stability of the cultural landscape in order to guarantee its functionality and the attractiveness of these regions for rural tourism.

Three main objectives are defined within BioDIV:

To develop a literature review of biocultural diversity practices in the Mediterranean

Where and why can be found biocultural diversity practices?

Are there specific indicators for assessing biocultural diversity?

Are there variables determining the provision of biocultural diversity?

3. To develop in-depth evaluation of biocultural diversity and its social-ecological roots

What are the socio-ecological roots of biocultural diversity?

What type of local ecological knowledge determines biocultural diversity?

Irene Otamendi Urroz

Antonio J Castro

Fostering social-ecological resilience to preserve biocultural diversity in rural Spain (BioDIV)

The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 220 km2. In 1984, Urdaibai was designated part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

Urdaibaï is a Natura 2000 nature reserve with a vast natural heritage: 729 fauna species, 821 flora species, 86 habitats, 52 sites of geological interest, 3 Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), and one Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds. Today, the reserve provides habitats for 85 endangered species/species of community interest.

In addition to this pilot site, the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO) will implement action within Santoña Marshes Natural Park, located in the community of Cantabria.

Santoña Marshes Natural Park was declared a nature reserve in 1992, a natural park in 2006, a RAMSAR site in 1994, and Natura 2000 site. Santoña, Victoria, and Joyel Marshes Natural Park is located on the Eastern Cantabrian coast and encompasses 6.678 hectares. In summer, the population increases significantly, and some cities can see their population grow from 2.000 to 90.000 people. This sharp change has a significant impact on the economy, but also on the environment since thousands of visitors go to the beach or walk in fields and wetlands.

This Natural Park is one of the most important protected areas in the North of Spain. Indeed, marshes, wetlands, and dunes are the main ecosystems and cover more than 50% of the protected area. In other words, about two-thirds of the whole area is occupied by three Sites of Community Importance (SCI); two of them for estuarine waters and shallow tidal waters, and one for forest habitats.

The Ebro Delta Natural Park is the largest protected wetland in Catalonia. In total, 7.736 hectares provide habitat for a rich flora and fauna with more than 800 plant species. The wildlife of the Delta, basically birds, attracts birdwatchers. In fact, between 50.000 and 100.000 specimens of exactly 343 species of birds are quantified.

This Natural Park is located in one of the coastal and marine hotspots in the Western Mediterranean. It covers 34.000 hectares of land and 12.000 hectares of marine area. Designated Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds, the Park represents a Wetlands of International Importance – Salinas del Cabo de Gata (RAMSAR), UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Juan Gisbert

Saving Seabirds from Marine Litter

Mediterranean agricultural landscapes are visibly shaped by human practices where traditional land management has endured over millennia. These landscapes are currently threatened by factors including urban migration and ageing populations, which are directly impacting local communities. The EU-funded SCALABLE project will identify how gender equity can promote pathways for the future conservation of mountain agricultural landscapes in the biocultural regions of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain. It will evaluate current and future biocultural practices, map biocultural practices as elements for landscape conservation and the ecosystem services provided using a gender perspective, and identify future pathways to secure local well-being and biocultural landscape conservation to foster gender equity and landscape sustainability, helping support the future development of rural areas in the south of Spain.

Every landscape on Earth is influenced to some degree by people, and in turn, societies and cultures are shaped by landscapes. Biocultural diversity is the notion that biological and cultural diversity are dependent on each other, and that biological diversity is managed, conserved, and created by different cultural groups. Agricultural landscapes are visibly shaped by human practices, and in these areas the relationship between nature and culture runs deep, where everyday practices and traditions have coevolved with the environment over millennia. This is especially true in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes where the traditional management of the land have endured over millennia. However, these landscapes depend on human interventions and currently are threatened by their abandonment, driving by migration to more urban areas, intensification processes, or aging of population, having a direct impact on the human well-being of local communities. In this project, I propose an interdisciplinary methodology to identify how gender equity can promote pathways for future conservation of mountain agricultural in the biocultural regions of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in South of Spain. To this end, I will first (1) evaluate current and future biocultural practices developed by local communities in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Then (2) I will map biocultural practices as elements for conservation of landscapes and the ecosystem services provided using a gender perspective. Finally (3), based on participatory approaches, I will identify future pathways to secure the maintenance of local well-being and the conservation of biocultural landscapes to foster gender equity and landscape sustainability. By considering traditional ecological knowledge, perspectives and needs, the project will inherently address broader societal issues such as gender and environmental justice, with the last goal to support future development of rural areas in south of Spain.

Social-Ecological Pathways and Gender Perspectives for Future Conservation of Biocultural Mountain Agro-Ecosystems (SCALABLE)

XPaths, which is short for Science in action: Intersecting pathways to the SDGs across scales in the drylands, is a collaborative research project that explores how to create an inclusive pathway that will lead to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

More specifically, XPaths aims to better understand the barriers and leverage points that will either push us further away or closer to reaching SDGs. XPaths takes a broad perspective - bridging local to global scales, contrasting narratives about desired futures.

Working in the context of drylands, which cover 41% of the Earth’s surface, XPaths will use a science-action research process. XPaths will look at semi-arid regions in Brazil, Senegal, and Spain as case studies, which all have different levels of income, institutional and historical contexts.

Drylands are susceptible to land degradation and droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change, and have severe impacts on food security, livelihoods, human wellbeing, and also peace and security. Through better understanding how to work towards the SDGs from the Brazil, Senegal, and Spain case studies, XPaths hopes to be able to apply findings to other dryland regions.

XPaths researches will combine cutting-edge qualitative and quantitative modeling approaches to represent pathways to the SDGs.

XPaths science-action research process includes researchers helping to build 

 with local and regional actors, which are meant to be catalysts for change. Once coalitions are built, 

 are meant to provide perspective about how the SDGs could or should be realized in their respective country. Once the dialogues have concluded, coalition members will collaboratively create 

 that target policies that will help realize the SDGs within their specific context.

Laboratory of Sustainability, Governance and Resilienceof Socio-Ecological Systems

Our study areas in images

Research Areas

Valuation and mapping of ecosystem services forhuman wellbeing

Socio-Ecological systems science for conservation conflict resolution

Integrating Ecological and Cultural Values in Biocultural Diversity Assessment

Our study areas in images

Reconciling Food Systems Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation in Multifunctional Protected Areas

Overcoming Barriers to Implementing an AI-Based Pest Early Warning Network in Greenhouses for Climate Change Adaptation

Evaluating Biocultural Diversity and Socio-Ecological Vulnerability for the Conservation of Rural Areas in Spain (EmBraCe)

Latest Publications

Accounting for physical barriers in insect pest modeling: A spatially explicit simulation-based approach

Socio-ecological sampling in classroom. Designing sampling with digital twins and participatory methodologies for environmental mapping

An inverse reinforcement learning approach to model health-related information popularity on X (Twitter)

Look at those nasty and lovely birds! Assessing preferences and emotional responses of visitors to a National Park

Where nature is not so green: exploring perceptions of urban nature in a semi-arid city

Our Team

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