Nathalie Seddon, PhD

Director

I am Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford with broad interests in understanding the origins and maintenance of biodiversity and its relationship with global change. An evolutionary ecologist by training, my research now focusses on determining the ecological and socioeconomic effectiveness of nature-based solutions to societal challenges, and how best to increase the influence of robust biodiversity and ecosystem science on the design and implementation of climate and development policy. In 2017, I founded and now direct the Nature-based Solutions Initiative. I am also is a Senior Associate of the International Institute for Environment and Development and a Senior Fellow of the Oxford MartinSchool.

Alexandre Chausson, MSc

Senior Researcher

I have been conducting and applying social and ecological research over the past 7 years for conservation science and now nature-based solutions. At the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, I manage research and knowledge-exchange projects, focusing on nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary research at the nexus of biodiversity, development, and climate change issues. I am also currently focusing on capacity strengthening at the individual, and organizational level to bridge research, policy, and practice gaps on nature-based solutions and research on social and environmental trade-offs in development.

Cécile A.J. Girardin, PhD

Technical and Artistic Director


I combine years of experience in climate change policy analysis with a background in tropical ecology and forest ecosystem functioning, and have a passion for data analysis, design/illustration and science communication. My current research focuses on ecosystem functioning and carbon dynamics in tropical forests, and their responses to a rapidly changing climate. I am based in the Oxford University School of Geography and the Environment (Ecosystems Lab, Global Ecosystems Monitoring network).

Beth Turner, MSc

Researcher

I am a biologist with expertise in tropical biodiversity and ecosystems, community ecology and human-ecological relationships. I am particularly interested in how to apply this knowledge to support ecosystem integrity and societal wellbeing. For these reasons I am happy to be a part of the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, to contribute towards promoting the use of healthy ecosystems to increase our resilience to anthropogenic changes.

Pam Berry, PhD

Senior Associate

I am a geographer by training, but I have worked on environmental issues throughout my academic career. Firstly, on climate change impacts on biodiversity and conservation and policy responses. More recently on assessing ecosystem services in various contexts, including urban green infrastructure, before extending this to nature-based solutions, which I see as vital for addressing the environmental challenges that we face. I am a Senior Research Fellow in the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford and I was the Rapporteur for the EU report on Nature-based solutions.

Nicole Chabaneix, MSc

Researcher

I am a biologist, specialized in ecology and conservation (BA) and in social-ecological resilience (MSc). I have 6 years of professional experience working on climate change and sustainable development research, policy and project management, with roles at WWF and the Ministry of Environment in my home country of Peru. My current work is focused on advancing ecosystem-based adaptation and other nature-based solutions for enhanced social-ecological resilience in the face of climate change.

Isabel Key, BA

Researcher and Coordinator

I have a strong interest in tackling climate change, in particular through Nature-based Solutions and education. Currently, at the NBSI I am working on outreach, helping to organise the upcoming conference, and contributing to an evidence synthesis on NbS for adaptation to climate change in tropical and sub-tropical forests. I recently graduated from the University of Cambridge in Natural Sciences, specializing in ecology and conservation.

Alifa Bintha Haque

DPhil Student

I am an aspiring marine biologist trained in zoology, biodiversity conservation and management. Since 2019 I have been pursuing doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof Nathalie Seddon (NbSI, Oxford) and Dr Rachel Cavanagh at the British Antarctic Survey (Cambridge). My developing thesis focuses on management of sharks and ray fisheries in Bangladesh to achieve a conservation model rooted in biological sustainability. My goal is to initiate evidence-based marine conservation in Bangladesh that embraces and incorporates the insights of fishers.

Alison Smith, MSc

Senior Associate

I am a natural scientist with 20 years of experience as an environmental consultant, specialising in climate policy. For the last five years I have been a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography and the Environment, where I am developing and testing practical methods of mapping and measuring natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides. My main interest is in the synergies and trade-offs between different approaches to tackling societal challenges, and I see nature-based solutions and green infrastructure as having a strong role to play in providing multiple benefits for climate adaptation, mitigation, biodiversity and human well-being.

Dan Seddon

Designer & developer

I have been working on interface and web design for many years and design and develop all of the NbSI's online platforms. I have fundamental love and passion for all things nature.

Rachel Cavanagh, PhD

Senior Associate

I am a senior research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, with almost twenty years’ experience in scientific research, international programme management, and the provision of technical advice for policy. An ecologist by training, my research is cross-disciplinary linking climate science and ecology to address the challenges in understanding and managing changing marine ecosystems.

Stephen Woroniecki, PhD

Research Associate

Stephen Woroniecki is finalising his PhD at LUCSUS - Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, in Sweden. The focus of his thesis is Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Sri Lanka. Specifically he explores the potential of such solutions to facilitate the empowerment of the most climate-vulnerable groups.