Conference chairs and keynote speakers
Conference Chairs
 |
Kalev Sepp – Estonian University of Life Sciences Conference chair Kalev Sepp (PhD) is a Professor of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation at the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU). He reads courses on nature conservation, landscape ecology and management, environmental policy and nature resource management. His research and publications focus on evaluating the human impact to agricultural landscapes, ecosystem services, management of protected areas, landscape and biodiversity monitoring, applying the concept of ecological networks in planning). He was a Vice-President an elected Councillor (2004−2012) of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN). He is a member of the EU Horizon 2020 Programme Committee for Environment (including climate change). |
 |
Ruben Mnatsakanian – Central European University Conference co-chair Dr. Ruben Mnatsakanian (PhD in geography) is a professor of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University (Budapest); he served several terms as the Head of the Department; in 1996-2012 he was the Head of the Collaborating Centre of CEU with the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Project launched by UNEP. The areas of Ruben’s expertise include the environmental sector in Russia and former USSR that was covered by many publications on environmental policy, ecology, pollution and environmental impact and assessment for the region. |
 |
Galina Martsinkevich – Belarusian State University Honourable conference chair Dr. Galina Martsinkevich (PhD in geography) is a professor of the Chair of Geographical Ecology at Belarusian State University (Minsk). Being at the foundation of landscape ecology studies in Belarus, she published over 400 works covering various aspects of dynamic and structure of landscapes in Belarus (including the first landscape classification and a comprehensive map of landscapes in 1984), supervised over 30 PhD students. Dr. Galina Martsinkevich reads courses on landscape ecology and environmental monitoring and leads a number of research projects. |
Keynote speakers
 |
Elena Bukvareva – Biodiversity Conservation Centre, Russia Dr. Elena Bukvareva holds PhD (habilitated) in biology. She had over 30 years of work experience in the A.N. Severtsev Institute for the Problems of Ecology and Evolution (Russian Academy of Sciences), where she worked on the theory of optimal biodiversity. She co-authored the National Doctrine for Biodiversity Conservation in Russia, and the Ecological Doctrine of Russia. Currently she is the Scientific Supervisor of TEEB-Russia; recent outputs included the Prototype of the National Report on Ecosystem Services in Russia (2018). She is a lead author of IPBES assessment reports. |
 |
Daniele La Rosa – University of Catania, Italy Dr. Daniele La Rosa holds PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, Assistant Professor (with National Habilitation and tenure track) in Urban and Environmental Planning at University of Catania (Italy). Director of Laboratory for territorial and environmental planning (LAPTA, www.dicar.unict.it) at the University of Catania. His research topics include sustainable planning, Ecosystem Services, GIS applications for urban and landscape planning, environmental indicators, Environmental Strategic Assessment, Land Use science and landscape studies. |
 |
Aleh Cherp – Lund University / Central European University, Sweden / Hungary Dr. Aleh Cherp is a professor at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University and in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University. His research interests include political economy of energy transitions and energy security. In 2014-2015 he lead a project on energy transitions supported within the Transformations to Sustainability Program of the International Social Sciences Council. In 2008-2012 he was the Convening Lead Analyst on Energy Security of the Global Energy Assessment. Prof Cherp has undertaken professional work for the European Environment Agency (EEA), UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank, and USAID among others. He also serves on the editorial boards of several journals including Energy Research and Social Science. |
 |
Alexander Prishchepov – University of Copenhagen, Denmark Dr. Alexander Prishchepov is an associate professor of the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at University of Copenhagen. His primary research interests lay in the field of Land System Science, with a focus on monitoring the dynamic of land cover and land use with satellite remote sensing, analysis of the causal drivers of land-use/ land-cover change, agricultural potentials and consequences of such changes for the environment. His primary geography expertise is on the transition economies in Northern Eurasia and transition economies (e.g., EU, post-socialist, post-Soviet countries, China, Vietnam). |
 |
Alexander Sergunin – St.-Petersburg State University, Russia Dr. Alexander Sergunin, Professor of International Relations at the Higher School of Economics (St. Petersburg) and St. Petersburg State University is currently working on a research project entitled “EU and Russia: Two Competing ‘Soft Power’ Projects in the Baltic Sea Region.” The main objective of this research is to examine the nature of the EU and Russian ‘soft power’ projects in the Baltic Sea Region and to critically assess how these projects are implemented in terms of their efficiency and interaction. Prof. Sergunin is the author of numerous publications on regionalism, foreign and security policy and EU-Russia relations. |
 |
Malte Timpte – Institute for Biodiversity - Network e.V. (ibn), Germany / Sweden Malte Timpte is a consultant for public engagement and environmental politics based in Stockholm, Sweden and a member of the Institute for Biodiversity - Network e.V. (ibn) in Germany. He has an academic background in political science and environmental planning and his research is focusing on participation and engagement processes in environmental politics. |