Marieke Sassen

Twenty years of experience conducting and managing interdisciplinary research to investigate trade-offs and synergies between agricultural development and biodiversity at different scales. Previously headed multidisciplinary teams integrating ecological and socio-economic field surveys in Cameroon and Gabon to better understand local perspectives and traditional knowledge on land and resource use in forested landscapes (with CIFOR). Obtained an interdisciplinary PhD (2014) in conservation and development from Wageningen University. As a Senior Technical Specialist at UNEP-WCMC (2013-2021) she led the Centre’s work on agriculture and biodiversity, aiming to support the integration of biodiversity concerns into land use planning and agricultural development policy. Successfully developed and managed projects exploring future scenarios of agricultural development to inform sustainable land-use planning and agricultural (development) policy in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since 2016, she is based at Wageningen University, and leads collaborative work on assessing the risks and opportunities for biodiversity and ecosystem services from cocoa development in West/Central Africa. Now a senior researcher at Wageningen University and Research (Plant Production Systems group and Wageningen Environmental Research). Marieke is fluent in English, French and Dutch.