Michael BEEVERS is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies (2011) and Chair at Department of Environmental Studies, Graduate Program on Managing Complex Disasters Contributing Faculty, Department of International Studies Dickinson College (USA). Dr. Beevers specializes in global environmental politics with an emphasis on the linkages between natural resources, security, conflict and peace. His work appears in numerous book chapters and journals including Global Governance, International Peacekeeping, African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review and The Extractive Industries and Society, among others. His book, Natural Resource Governance and Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict: Sierra Leone and Liberia (Palgrave-MacMillan) was published in 2018. He has worked as a research associate at Princeton University and as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme and World Resources Institute. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger.

Saleem H. ALI is Chair and Distinguished Professor at the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware (USA) and also the Lead for Critical Minerals and Inclusive Energy Transitions at the United Nations University. He has been a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas for over a decade and also served on the Science Panel for the Global Environment Facility. With field experience in over 170 countries, Prof. Ali is a National Geographic Explorer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Raul LEJANO is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Conservation Education at New York University, USA. Professor Lejano is a scholar in public policy, environment, and collective action, whose work on climate justice and urban sustainability involves increasing resilience in vulnerable communities to risks from extreme weather events and environmental health risks. His research suggests strategies for reforming environmental governance around an ethic of care. Current projects include studying adapting to extreme weather in developing nations –e.g., empowerment workshops at Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, enacting a relational model of risk communication, and exploring high-definition virtual simulations for flood risk communication. In his (co-authored) book, The Power of Narrative in Environmental Networks (MIT Press), a theory is advanced regarding the unique capacity of narrative to capture complex human motivations and human-nonhuman relationships. The theory is further developed in his recent (co-authored) book, The Power of Narrative: Climate Skepticism and the Deconstruction of Science (Oxford Univ. Press)*. His newest books are entitled Caring, Empathy and the Commons: A Relational Theory of Collective Action (Cambridge Univ. Press) and a co-authored work entitled Relationality: The Inner Life of Public Policy (Cambridge Univ. Press).

Mihai GOȚIU is an environmental journalist and activist. He has been elected as a member of the Romanian Parliament in a former legislature and was part of several committees for environmental protection, and water and forest management of the Romanian Senate (2016-2020). Currently he is conducting research for his doctoral thesis on journalism and environmental communication in the technological era (since 2020). He has authored and published the book „Afacerea Roșia Montană”(2013, Tact Publishing House, Cluj) based on his investigative work, which has been widely acclaimed, and has earned the scholarship for excellence in journalism Milena Jesenska at the Institute for Human Sciences (2014, Vienna). M. Gotiu is the former chief editor of local publications Clujeanul, Ziarul Clujeanului and Viața Clujeanului, and of the online platform România Curată, edited by the Academic Society of Romania. He is currently coordinating România Curată, where he has developed the project Verde Curat, focusing on environmental journalism.

William KEETON is a Full Professor of Forest Ecology and Forestry at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, USA, where he directs the Carbon Dynamics Laboratory and is a Fellow in the Gund Institute for Environment. He also serves as Chair of the IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) Working Group on Old-growth Forests and Reserves. His research focuses on forest disturbance dynamics, riparian ecology, forest carbon, old-growth forests, ecological silviculture, and sustainable forest management in the US Northeast and Pacific Northwest, but also travels frequently to Central and Eastern Europe where he serves on the board for Science for the Carpathians and as a Fulbright Specialist. He has ongoing research also in Chilean Patagonia and Bhutan as well. In the US, he serves on the Board of Trustees for the Vermont Land Trust and on the science advisory committee for the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative. Dr. Keeton has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including 70 journal papers. His new co-edited book“Ecology and Recovery of Eastern Old-Growth Forests”is published by Island Press (Washington, DC). He holds a BSc in Natural Resources from Cornell University (1990), a Masters in Conservation Biology and Policy from Yale University (1994), and a PhD in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington (2000).

Carl BRUCH is Director at Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Carl Bruch’s research focuses on making environmental law work. He has helped countries across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia develop and implement laws, policies, and institutional frameworks to effectively manage water resources, biodiversity, forests, and other natural resources. He is an authority on the means to manage natural resources to support post-conflict peacebuilding, on environmental governance and institutions, and on ways to prevent, reduce, mitigate, and compensate for damage to the environment during armed conflict. In addition to working at ELI, Bruch has been an attorney with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW). He is an adjunct professor with American University School of International Service, where he teaches a master’s-level course on environmental peacebuilding.

Remus PRAVALIE is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Romania. He is currently conducting interdisciplinary teaching and research activities aimed at global environmental issues, especially climate change, land degradation and environmental pollution. He is also interested in global solutions to combat planetary environmental issues, which are linked to renewable energies or nuclear energy, as low-carbon technology. He has completed a doctorate and two post-doctoral stages at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, in the domain of Geography (Environmental Geography). He is the (first or sole) author of more than 20 scientific studies published in prestigious international journals (Q1 category), of which 10 geographical studies have a global spatial coverage. At present, he is involved in several national and international research projects, which mainly deal with the complex land degradation issue in Europe.

Laura BOURIAUD is a Professor at the Forestry Department of the University of Suceava, Romania. The expertise of Professor Bouriaud is linked mainly to environmental policies, property rights on natural resources, illegal logging, adaptation of forest management to climate change, governance, private forestry, countries in transition, economic theory of property rights, Institutional Analysis and Development framework, economics of law, advocacy coalition framework. She has been recently appointed as a honorary advisor to the Romanian Minister of the Environment.

Vlad POPESCU

Bankwatch Romania

Vlad joined Bankwatch Romania in March 2021 as a Project Manager for a new project on Energy Transition and Just Transition. He has a 10 years’ experience in the industrial sector, where he implemented various investment projects, and is also as a consultant for non refundable grants. He has a degree in Industrial Engineering and a postgraduate degree in Project Management.

He now holds the position of director of the association, combining the management of the organization with involvement in activities related to access to justice for environmental protection. He strongly believes in the importance and impact that a strong NGO sector can have in a democratic state of law and is involved in defending civil society rights against the increasing attempts of political forces to weaken them.