All Speakers

Speaker Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Director (Research & Advisory)

Royal Commission for AlUla

Dr. Benjamin Lee is the Director of Research and Advisory for the Wildlife and Natural Heritage Division at the Royal Commission for AlUla. A zoologist by training with a deep curiosity about the…
Speaker Baerbel VOGEL
Baerbel VOGEL

Secretary

IUCN/WCPA GSG Caves and Karst Working Group

Over 30 years I am an engaged speleologist with a special focus on cave and karst protection and policy. I serve as president for the German Speleological Federation VdHK for almost 20 years now. In…
Speaker Taís NOGUEIRA FERNANDES
Taís NOGUEIRA FERNANDES

Environmental specialist

Vale S/A

Specialist in strategic environmental management, corporate sustainability, and biodiversity, with 20+ years of experience leading high-impact projects in both industrial and academic sectors. Ph.D.…
Speaker ANTOINE ALLAM
ANTOINE ALLAM

IUCN Climate Crisis Commission 2022-2025

Dr. Allam is a highly experienced Water Resources and Hydrology Expert with 15 years of experience in Lebanon and the Mediterranean Region. He holds a PhD in hydrology, where he studied Mediterranean…
Speaker Mateo PORTER PARTIDA
Mateo PORTER PARTIDA

Student

EducationNatureNexus

I am a 17-year-old Mexican student living in Canada with a deep passion for marine ecosystems and sustainability. As I navigate my final year of high school, I aspire to study marine biology and…
Speaker Shamen VIDANAGE
Shamen VIDANAGE

Country Representative, IUCN Sri Lanka

IUCN

Shamen Vidanage brings over 30 years of experience in natural resource management at government, academia and non-government sectors. He is currently the Country Representative of IUCN Sri Lanka…
ELISA FURLAN
ELISA FURLAN
Speaker John EWEN
John EWEN

Professor

Zoological Society of London

Professor John Ewen is a conservation scientist in ZSL’s Institute of Zoology, leading a research group focussed on species recovery including conservation translocations.  He has published more…
Speaker Stefania PETROSILLO
Stefania PETROSILLO

Expert

IUCN WCPA TBCSG

Senior expert in: - Natural Protected Areas - international and cross-border cooperation on protection of nature and culture heritage and sustainable development - community participatory management…
Speaker Priscilla YU
Priscilla YU

Program Officer, Forests

WWF

Speaker Aizhong LIU
Aizhong LIU

Secretary General

Centre for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge

Dr. Aizhong Liu, Professor at Southwest Forestry University in China, Secretary General at Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge. Engaged in researches in plant science and…
Speaker Ivan PASPALDZHIEV
Ivan PASPALDZHIEV

Senior Manager | Sustainability Services

EY denkstatt

Senior Manager at EY denkstatt with 10 years of experience in sustainability strategy, focusing on nature & climate strategy, environmental economics, and public policy consulting, advising…
Speaker Joydeep BOSE
Joydeep BOSE

Regional Coordinator-CA|TS

International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)

Dr. Bose is Regional Coordinator-CA|TS & Associate Director, Wildlife & Habitats Division, WWF-India based at secretariat in New Delhi, India. For WWF-India, he leads the Protection and…
Speaker Tariq ABU TALEB
Tariq ABU TALEB

Executive Director

Wadi for Sustainable Ecosystems Development (Wadi)

Tariq Abu Taleb – Executive Director & Founding Member, Wadi for Sustainable Ecosystems Development (Wadi)Tariq Abu Taleb is the Executive Director and a founding member of Wadi for Sustainable…
Speaker Daniel MATEOS MOLINA
Daniel MATEOS MOLINA

Head of Marine Conservation at Emirates Nature - WWF

Emirates Nature - WWF

Daniel Mateos-Molina is a passionate marine scientist and the Head of Marine Conservation and Biodiversity at Emirates Nature-WWF. Holding a Ph.D. Cum Laude in Biodiversity and Environmental…
Speaker Saud ABDULAZIZ  AL MUHAIDIB
Saud ABDULAZIZ AL MUHAIDIB

Managing Director of the Board

Tilad Business Holding

Saud Al-Muhaideb is the Managing Director of the Board of Tilad Business Holding, a pioneering Saudi group headquartered in Riyadh that integrates environmental consultancy, veterinary sciences, and…
Speaker Pakkasem TONGCHAI
Pakkasem TONGCHAI

Programme Officer, Water and Wetlands

the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Pakkasem Tongchai is a landscape architect and water and wetlands practitioner with over nine years of experience in sustainable landscape design and ecological management. His award-winning 2017…
Speaker Alla Aleksanyan
Alla Aleksanyan

senior researcher

HH GAA A. TAKHTAJYANI ANVAN BUSABANUTYAN INSTITUT

Dr. Alla Aleksanyan is a leading Armenian conservation biologist and Head of the Department of Plant Diversity and Ecosystem Studies at the International Scientific-Educational Center of NAS of…
Speaker Noor BADER
Noor BADER

Student

Ecoherence New York University Abu Dhabi

Nour Bader is a biology undergraduate at New York University Abu Dhabi, specializing in Brain and Cognitive Sciences with minors in Psychology and Anthropology. Passionate about neuroscience and…
Speaker SAIFUDEEN KABEER
SAIFUDEEN KABEER

Senior Data and Ranking Specialist

United Arab Emirates University

Saifudeen A is a Senior Research Data and Ranking Specialist at the Office of the Associate Provost for Research, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from…
Speaker Manal BAHMAN
Manal BAHMAN

Chief Operations Officer

Emirates Nature - WWF

Manal Bahman is the Chief Operations Officer of Emirates Nature–WWF, where she shapes strategy, governance, and operations to accelerate high-impact nature and climate action across the UAE and the…
Speaker Joann Sy
Joann Sy

Scientific Advisor

POLLINIS

With almost 30 years of experience in development, public health and biodiversity across the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, my career began in epidemiology, focusing on public health issues such…
Speaker Tommaso DEMOZZI
Tommaso DEMOZZI

Biodiversity Policy Officer

IUCN

Tommaso Demozzi works as Biodiversity Policy Officer for the IUCN EU Representative Office and for the IUCN Centre for Policy and Law. He follows key international policy processes both at the…
Speaker Sally WREN
Sally WREN

Co-Chair

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group

Sally joined the ASG as a Programme Officer in 2013, and had roles as Conservation Planning Officer, then Deputy Chair, before becoming Co-Chair in 2024. One of Sally’s main roles to date was leading…
Speaker Dominic REGESTER
Dominic REGESTER

Director Education

IUCN Commission on Education and Communication 2021-2025

Dominic Regester is Director of Education and Director of the Center for Education Transformation at Salzburg Global, where he is responsible for designing, developing and implementing programs on…
Speaker Naïk FAUCON
Naïk FAUCON

European & International Affairs Officer

OFB. Office français de la biodiversité.

Multicultural experience in capacity building (individual, organizational, and systemic) in the field of biodiversity protection, conservation, and restoration.
Speaker Helga Katharina Mahler
Helga Katharina Mahler

Project Director

GIZ PANORAMA

Helga Katharina Mahler is a Project Director at GIZ, author, and humanitarian, working transdisciplinarily and transculturally to drive sustainable transformation. She co-coordinates the global…