Eminent scientists join new CBA Scientific Advisory Board


Five scientists have joined the newly established Circular Bioeconomy Alliance Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), to provide scientific advice on CBA principles, strategic plans and activities.
Bart Muys has been appointed as the first Chair of the SAB for 2022-2025. Bart 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.
Nathalie Seddon is Professor of Biodiversity and Founding Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative in the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Agile Initiative and co-lead of the Biodiversity and Society Programme at the Oxford Martin School. She is also founding non-executive Director of the Oxford University Social Venture, Nature-based Insetting.
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.
Demel Teketay Fanta is Professor in Forest Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. His research focuses on diversity, stand structure, dynamics and restoration of vegetation in the different forest types, as well as sustainable/responsible forest management, the role of fire in the regeneration of plant species, and invasive plant species.
Sonya Dewi is the ICRAF country programme coordinator of Indonesia and is a Senior Landscape Ecologist. During more than twenty years of professional career as a researcher, she has focused on the understanding of the trade-offs and integration between conservation and development agendas at the landscape level across different contexts, and on identifying options to change the trajectories in several countries, such as Indonesia, India and Brazil.
Image: Adobe.stock.com – Leigh Prather