Founding directors of the Centre

As a professor for Nature Conservation Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Pierre Ibisch is with the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany. He has a strong background in conservation and development in South America where he has lived and worked for about a decade. Former dean of the faculty of Forest and Environment and founding head of the international Masters programme Global Change Management (among others, teaching experience in biodiversity conservation, system theory, global change ecology, adaptation). After holding a research professorship for "Biodiversity conservation and natural resource management under global change", in 2015 he was awarded an extraordinary research professorship for "Ecosystem-based sustainable development". In 2019, he was co-founder of the Biosphere Reserves Institute at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development and started to serve as one of the scientific chairs.

Pierre  is implementing research projects and consultancy work on the adaptation of conservation to climate/global change in Latin America, Asia and Europe. Ample publication experience (including peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters), editor and author of a major textbook on biodiversity and conservation in Bolivia. Acting as advisor in various conservation and sustainability-related commissions. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section. He serves as vice chair of the board of Deutsche Umweltstiftung. In 2020 he was appointed as trustee of the Board of Trustees of NABU, Germany. Acknowledging his role in developing the coooperation with the Ukrainian National Forestry University in Lviv, in 2019, this institution awarded Pierre an honorary doctorate. 

Dr. Peter Hobson at Writtle University College, is  research champion for the School of Sustainable Environments. Currently, his research interests include proxy measures of ecosystem resilience and thermodynamic efficiency in forests and other semi-natural landscapes with a view to mitigating against the impacts of climate change. This aspect of research has been carried out in collaboration with international partners including Oulanka Biological Station (Oulu University, Finland), Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (Germany), and with the Ukraine Biosphere Reserve. The findings of this research have been presented at international conferences (e.g., ECCB, IUFRO, COP10 Nagoya meeting) and also published in a variety of formats.

Peter also acts as scientific advisor on various UK Government agency steering groups including the Environment Agency for East of England, the Forestry Commission Regional Woodland Group, and the Chelmsford and Essex Biodiversity Action Group.