Advisory Board

The WILDCARD Project Advisory Board (PAB) is a panel of five international experts, covering key areas relevant to our objectives: the scientific sector, local administrations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), environmental NGOs, and policymakers.

The PAB provides independent quality control, advice, and validation of the project’s vision, global impact, and outreach.

PAB appointed members

Scientific community

Laetitia M. Navarro

Conservation biologist at the Doñana Biological Station of the Spanish Research Council (EBD-CSIC), in the Department of Conservation Biology and Global Change (Biología de la Conservación y Cambio Global).

Main research topics/activities:

  • Understanding the patterns and processes of biodiversity change across scales
  • Ambitious approaches to restoration and conservation
  • Biodiversity monitoring and knowledge that can effectively support conservation policies

Interest groups

Ana Rocha

Director specialising in EU’s Agri & Forestry-related policies at the European Landowners’ Association (ELO), the federation of national associations from Europe and beyond, dedicated to representing the interests of landowners, land managers, and rural entrepreneurs.

With a background in Agricultural Engineering, she brings over a decade of professional experience in EU lobbying, advocating for the interests of landowners and land managers.

Despite her work and academic pursuits taking her to various European countries, including recent stays in Brussels and London, she maintains deep connections to the Portuguese countryside where her roots are firmly planted.

Media

Luigi Torreggiani

Forester and journalist, Luigi writes for the technical-scientific magazine Sherwood – Foreste ed Alberi Oggi and is involved in the communication aspects of several projects related to sustainable forest management.

He contributed to drafting the first Report on the State of Forests in Italy and regional reports on the state of forests in Tuscany, Liguria, and Veneto. He has produced several video documentaries on forest management and biodiversity conservation. Alongside journalist Ferdinando Cotugno, he co-hosts the podcast Ecotoni and, in collaboration with the newspaper Domani, created the audio report VAIA – Trees, Humans, Climate on the third anniversary of the Vaia Storm. He also authored two books on forest-related topics and forest management.

Forest Ecosystem Services Valorisation

Antonio Brunori

Forester and journalist, secretary general of PEFC-Italia and Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO Working Party 9.01.03. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification. Antonio is a member of the EU DG Clima Expert Group on ‘Carbon Removals FORESTS’ and the PEFC International Task Force for the Development of the Carbon Credit Certification Standard. He has participated in international projects focused on legality, sustainable forest management, and the valorisation of forestry products. In Italy, he has also been involved in projects aimed at enhancing the value of local forestry supply chains and forest ecosystem services.

Policymakers/Governmental agencies

Karel Chobot

Director of the Department of Biodiversity Monitoring at the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, a governmental body established in 2015 under the Conservation of Nature and Landscape Act. The main aim of the Czech Republic’s NCA is to protect and conserve nature and landscape across its entire territory.

Karel is responsible for the biodiversity monitoring and data management, together with species and habitat surveillance at national level. His interests also cover Entomology, Cultural History and the History of Science.