About

Scientific Advisory Board

Our Scientific Advisory Board’s role is to provide science-based advice on the development and implementation of our activities, including research work.

Bart Muys

Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board

Bart Muys is a Professor of Forest Ecology and Management at KU Leuven (Belgium). His research focuses on the role of tree diversity for forest ecosystem functioning under climate change, on restoration ecology of dry forests, and on sustainability evaluation of forests and bioenergy systems. He is supervisor of 47 graduated and 15 ongoing PhDs. Several of the papers he co-authored have been highly cited, and in 2021 he featured in Reuters’ hot list of most influential climate scientists.

    José J. Campos Arce

    José J. Campos Arce is the executive director of the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a global collaborative network that works towards transforming agriculture. He has 35 years of experience in international cooperation, technical, academic and scientific organizations and NGOs, working in international development, science and education. José is the former director general of CATIE, and former Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of CIFOR.

      Himlal Baral

      Himlal Baral is a Senior Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) scientist with CIFOR-ICRAF’s Climate Change, Energy and Low Carbon Development team. Based in Bali, Indonesia, Dr Baral coordinates CIFOR’s work on FLR, planted forests and bioenergy in Asia and the Pacific, specifically, 1) promoting FLR for multiple ecosystem goods and services (EGS); 2) quantifying and valuing EGS under different landscape management scenarios; 3) investigating and developing locally appropriate landscape restoration models; and 4) contributing to land-resource planning for food, biomaterial and energy security. Prior to joining CIFOR-ICRAF, he worked in the forestry and natural resources management field for over 25 years in both the private and public sectors in Asia and the Pacific. Dr Baral has a PhD in Land and Environment and two Master’s degrees: in Forest Science and in Social Science. Dr Baral also serves as a Fellow of the Melbourne School of Land and Environment and of the Global Evergreening Alliance and leads IUCN-CEM’s specialist group on forest ecosystems.

        Salome Bukachi

        Professor Salome Bukachi holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi’s Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, specializing in Medical Anthropology. She is one of the Members of Africa One Health Network Steering Committee, a Board member of the International Association of Ecology and Health, Member of the One Health High Level Expert Panel. She has won several research grants and fellowships from organisations/Institutions such as the Government of Kenya, EU, IDRC, BMGF, WHO/TDR, Universities of Oxford & Cambridge, Netherlands Fellowship Program.

          Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat

          Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat is a professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut and a principal scientist at the European Forest Institute. She holds a PhD from La Sorbonne University-Paris and an accreditation to supervise research (HDR) from Paris-Saclay University. With over two decades of experience as a plant geneticist, her work focuses on biodiversity conservation and forest ecosystem restoration, particularly in the context of climate change. She co-founded an NGO in 2008, which bridges scientific research with hands-on forest restoration efforts. Her approach integrates the social, economic, and ecological dimensions of restoration, viewing forests as complex communities where all living organisms and their interactions are equally important to the ecosystem’s survival.

            Lindsey Norgrove

            Lindsey Norgrove is a professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. She is an applied ecologist with diverse research interests spanning agroforestry, soil ecology, invasive species and biocontrol. She previously worked at the University of Basel and CABI, Switzerland, the University of Hohenheim, Germany and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Cameroon. She is currently president of the Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research and has more than 100 publications.

              Hartmut Vogtmann

              Professor Hartmut Vogtmann has had a long and distinguished career in research in the areas of animal nutrition, organic agriculture, food quality, sustainable resource management and the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services. He is currently chair of the project ‘Working together for a healthy soil” with the largest German nature and environment conservation NGO, NABU, and Honorary President of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM).