I am a professor at the Institute for Ecosystems and Sustainability Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). I was trained in biology, ethnobotany and ecology and have been engaging in inter- and trans-disciplinary research. Within large inter- and trans-disciplinary teams and research networks, I have been exploring the role of context- ranging from the taxonomic and functional diversity to the variance among and within stakeholder groups in values of nature- in the co-production of ecosystem services and the evolution of social-ecological systems. We have focused on the tradeoffs among ecosystem services, among stakeholders and among societal goals that set the stage of transformations towards sustainability. At the local scale, we have been monitoring the social-ecological dynamics of diverse tropical systems within the frontier of agricultural expansion. At the global scale, we have been developing conceptual frameworks, monitoring strategies, performing cross-site syntheses, and undertaking systematic literature reviews. I have been drawn to the science-policy interphase at the local, national and global scales, through the undertaking of transdisciplinary workshops and the preparation of synthesis documents for decision-makers. I have been co-lead of the Scientific Committee of PECS (Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society), one of the Core Projects of Future Earth (A global research initiative), the GEOBON-ES (Global Earth Observations Biodiversity Observations Network Ecosystem Services Group), the Socioecos network (Mexican Network on Social Ecological Systems and Sustainability). I have been part of the editorial team of several journal (Science Advances, People and Nature, Ecology and Society, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems and People, Journal of Plant Ecology. Within IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) I have been a CLA (Coordinating Lead Author) of the Values Guide and the Global Assessment, a Review Editor of the Americas Assessment, and a Co-Chair of the Values Assessment.
My research interests include:
- Transdiscipline, art, cuisine and sustainable food systems.
- Dynamics of socio-ecological systems.
- Biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being.
- Values of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
- Successional dynamics of biodiversity, functions and services of secondary tropical forest.