José Maria Cardoso da Silva has a BSc. from Universidade Federal do Pará, MSc. from Universidade de Brasília and a PhD from the University of Copenhagen. He is currently Professor of the Department of Geography at the University of Miami. He has more than 15 years managing conservation programs and developing research on sustainable development around the world. Dr. Silva has published more than 100 papers and book chapters. He received several awards for his scientific accomplishments.
Inara R. Leal has the BSc from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and a PhD from Universidade Estadual de Campinas. She is Adjunct Professor at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Her research is focused on how anthropogenic disturbances influence plant-animal interactions in Caatinga and Atlantic Forest. Dr. Leal has published more than a 100 papers and book chapters, and 6 books.
Marcelo Tabarelli has a BSc in Agronomic Engineering fromUniversidade Federal de Santa Maria and a PhD from Universidade de São Paulo. Currently, he is Associate Professor at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco with research activities devoted to plant ecology and conservation, particularly tropical forests. Dr. Tabarelli has published over 100 papers and dozens of book chapters.