Speakers

Dr Rainer Oppermann is senior ecologist and Head of the Institute for Agroecology and Biodiversity (IFAB) situated in Mannheim, Germany. He studied landscape ecology and has over 30 years of experiences in agro-ecological studies with focus on relationships between agricultural land use and biodiversity (vegetation, farmland birds, amphibians, insects). R. Oppermann has edited and written two international books on grassland and HNV farmland (Oppermann, R. and Gujer, H., eds., 2003, Oppermann, R., Beaufoy, G., Jones, G., eds., 2012) and published many articles. He developed monitoring approaches for the ecological value of agricultural landscapes such as in the LISA-project and currently in the EMBAL-project. He works in projects from the local level (e.g. cooperation with farmers enhancing biodiversity on their farms) to the regional, national and European level (e.g. evaluation of agri-environmental measures and Rural Development Programs, SEA, monitoring of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes). He founded IFAB in the year 2004 after having led another institute since 1995.

The expertise of the institute lies in the interdisciplinary work at the interface between agriculture and nature conservation with a focus on biodiversity. IFAB works in research, development, implementation and policy advisory services in the agro-environmental sector and cooperates with partners from academic, governmental and non-governmental institutions.