event session: Closing plenary

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Closing plenary
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Yanxia Li
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  • Eduardo Somarriba

Eduardo Somarriba
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Eduardo Somarriba has a BS in biology and natural resources, a master’s degree in tropical forest ecology, and a PhD in agroecology (biology) from the University of Michigan. He has been an active researcher, educator and advisor/consultant in agroforestry to various governments and private companies over the last 34 years. He is currently head of the program on Agriculture, Livestock and Agroforestry at CATIE, and the focal point for FTA at CATIE. Eduardo’s current field of research is focused on the optimal management of trees on farms, multistrata agroforestry systems with coffee and cacao, and the production of timber on farms. He has provided technical advice to governments, development projects and NGOs in Latin America, led various science-based development cocoa projects in Bolivia and in Central America, and published nearly 300 publications, including scientific articles, technical manuals, books and educational materials for university students and farmers.

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Vincent Gitz
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Vincent Gitz is the director of FTA and ex-officio member of the Independent Steering Committee. Engineer of Ecole Polytechnique (1994), France, he holds a PhD from AgroParisTech on land-use and global climate policies that was awarded the Le Monde Prize for academic research. He previously worked for CIRAD, the International Research Center on Environment and Development (CIRED) and with the Energy Planning Program of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He served as adviser for environment, sustainable development and research to the French minister of agriculture and fisheries, Michel Barnier, from 2007-2009, and just prior to joining CIFOR, he was assistant director for food policy at the French Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forests. From 2010 to 2015, Vincent was coordinator of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), the science-policy interface of United Nation’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

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Robert Nasi
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Robert Nasi was born in 1959 in Nice, France. He graduated as a forest engineer from the French National Forestry School and achieved a PhD in the field of ecology from the University of Paris Sud – Orsay. Since 1982, he has been living and travelling extensively in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, undertaking research activities in the fields of ecology and management of tropical forests. He joined CIFOR in August 1999 and held several research and management positions in the organization (principal scientist, biodiversity program leader, program director). He is, since November 1, 2017, the director general of CIFOR, and since January 1, 2014, the deputy director general for research. His particular research interests include the sustainable use of forest products and multiple-use management of tropical forests. His scientific work aims to integrate social and biological sciences for better management of tropical forests, more sustainable livelihoods and better designed forest policies. His main disciplines are ecology, botany, biometrics, tropical forest management and silviculture. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 scientific publications.

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Ravi Prabhu
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Ravi Prabhu is an accomplished scientist who has engaged in multi-disciplinary research and action in forested landscapes for almost 20 years. He earned his professional degree and doctorate in forestry from the University of Goettingen, Germany.

Ravi was previously a Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. He led the UNEP team that contributed to the UN-REDD Programme – mainly by supporting countries to realize multiple benefits from REDD+, and to use REDD+ as a catalyst to transform to a green economy. Prior to that, he coordinated the Regional Plan for Collective Action in eastern and southern Africa, a joint initiative of CGIAR. He also worked in various capacities at CIFOR.

Ravi joined World Agroforestry (ICRAF) as Deputy Director General (Research) in 2012. He has served on numerous international initiatives and committees, including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment where he served on the review and editorial team, and the UN Millennium Projects Taskforce 6 on Environmental Sustainability. He received the Queen’s Award for Forestry at Buckingham Palace in 2005.

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Tony Simons
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Tony Simons has worked for 27 years on issues at the tropical agriculture/forestry interface in more than 40 developing countries. His work has spanned the private sector (Shell Forestry), academia (University of Oxford), official development assistance (FCDO) and research (CGIAR). He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from Massey University, NZ, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Cambridge University, UK.

In 2009, Tony was made an Honorary Professor in Tropical Forestry at the University of Copenhagen. He is a board member of the African Centre for Technology Studies, the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa program, the Danone Livelihood Fund and DCM International Imaging. He also leads the IUFRO Forest and Water Task Force. He has published over 100 research papers and has sat on several journal editorial boards.

Tony’s interests span the seven major research themes of ICRAF, encompassing: tree germplasm; agroforestry systems; tree product marketing and extension; land health; climate change; environmental services and policies; and tropical forest margins. He is passionate about the transformative and profitable change that the private sector can bring to development.

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  • Anne-Marie Izac

Anne-Marie Izac
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Anne-Marie Izac is an independent scientist who has led research programs at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRAF before becoming the deputy director general for research at ICRAF and at CIRAD. She was the first CGIAR Consortium chief science officer until 2014. She also held the positions of CGIAR Consortium chief executive officer during the initial 18 months of the Consortium’s creation and of chief officer of the alliance created by the 15 CGIAR Centers, before the Consortium was created. Izac was a lead author in key reports such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Nutrient chapter). She has been an advisor on sustainable agriculture to the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences and served on the scientific board of various institutions, such as the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform. She serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. Izac is an ecological economist who specializes in sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Her PhD is in environmental and natural resource economics (University of Western Australia) and she earned an MSc in ecology and an MA in environmental and natural resources economics (Washington State University). She is also a graduate of a French ‘Grande Ecole’ (HEC).

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