2023 Pre-forum event

Dr. Hilde Eggermont is a freshwater biologist (PhD, 2004). She is currently the Strategic Coordinator of the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, a national science-policy interface for biodiversity. Her day-to-day activities focus largely on making the bridge between science, policy and practice in the context of European initiatives and global initiatives. She is Chair & Coordinator of the European Biodiversity Partnership (Biodiversa+) uniting 70+ research policy actors and environmental policy actors from 36 European and associated countries as part of the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030. She also acts as Belgian Focal Point for the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and as Vice President of the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN).

With project co-ordination and financial control, Christi provides overall leadership of ADEPT, overseeing daily operations and ‘building organisational capacity’. Cristi graduated from Brasov University in IT, economics and accounting and has worked for rural development NGOs since 2000. He has been guide and translator for numerous World Bank missions, and speaks Romanian, English and German.

FPG (Federatie Particulier Grondbezit) is the Federation for Private Landownership in The Netherlands. The Federation has about 1,600 members who, together, own 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of land in The Netherlands. FPG joins forces and looks after the interests of private land managers, aimed at the conservation and development of a balanced countryside in the Netherlands. FPG has a mission based on its conviction that private landownership is the key to the development and conservation of a vital and attractive countryside in a highly urbanised country.

Luc supports the board to translate the needs and ambitions of the members into policy positions and strategic interventions towards governments, stakeholders and citizens.

Georg Koenig is COO of Kiebitz, an organization that supports companies to invest in natural capital and create high quality nature-based solutions that build biodiversity, sequester carbon and regenerate the ecosystem.

As Director of Carbon Policy & Strategic Partnerships, Meredith Reisfield works across topic areas, including policy, science, demand, and supply, to bring agriculture to the forefront of solutions for climate change. A key component of her role at Indigo includes leading Indigo’s engagement with NGOs, policy, academic partners. Previously, Meredith worked in sustainability consulting at Quantis, leading sector teams advising clients across the food, apparel, and cosmetics industries. She holds a Masters in Sustainable Systems from the University of Michigan and a BA in Environment, Economics, and Politics from Claremont McKenna College.

Jurgen Tack studied biology (marine ecology) at Brussels Free University where he also obtained his PhD in Sciences. Within the Framework of the Kenya Belgium Project in Marine Sciences (Coastal Farms Kenya) he developed a number of oyster farms along the Kenyan coast. In 2000 he joined the team of the Belgian Biodiversity Platform (Belgian Science Policy Office). In 2007 he became the CEO of the Research Institute for Nature and Forest. In 2016 he took the position of Scientific Director at the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO), CEO at Landelijk Vlaanderen (Flemish Landowners’ Organisation) and CEO of the Aanspreekpunt Privaat Beheer Natuur en Bos. He was also President of the International Riverine Commission River Maas/Meuse, a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Nature Based Solutions and chairman of the board of directors of the Botanical Garden Meise. Since the beginning of 2017 he is evaluating the Nature Based Solution concept for the European Commission.

Giulio Volpi is policy officer at the Directorate General for Climate action of the European Commission where he focuses, amongst others, on land use and carbon removal policies. Giulio joined the European Commission in 2008 to work on international environmental relations for DG Environment. Before that Giulio worked for several years in Latin America, coordinating a number of projects in the field of renewable energy and climate change. Giulio has also worked in the NGO and private sector on climate change and sustainability issues. Giulio has a European Master's Degree in Environmental Management (Erasmus University) and MA in Political Sciences from Pisa's university. He has also concluded advanced studies on energy markets at the Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute.