Marine biologist Carlos M. Duarte, widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading scientists in marine ecosystems and in the development of solutions to address climate change, has recently joined the Board of Trustees of Rewilding Spain. This appointment will enable the Foundation to take on new challenges in the recovery of marine ecosystems and further consolidates Rewilding Spain as the leading organisation in Spain in the field of rewilding and ecological restoration.
Carlos M. Duarte has devoted his professional life to research on aquatic ecosystems, working in collaboration with international institutions such as the United Nations, the FAO and the World Bank. He is currently CEO of the Global Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform and Distinguished Professor of Marine Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He has an outstanding scientific career, with more than 1,100 publications covering all oceans, depths and types of marine ecosystems, and is the creator of the Blue Carbon concept, developed in collaboration with United Nations agencies. This innovative concept highlights mangroves, seagrass meadows and salt marshes as carbon sinks that are key in the fight against climate change.
Throughout his distinguished career, Carlos M. Duarte has received numerous national and international awards, including the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography; Spain’s Alejandro Malaspina National Award for Environmental Research; the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology; and the Japan Prize.
The Board of Trustees of Rewilding Spain is chaired by biologist and science communicator Odile Rodríguez de la Fuente and also includes lawyer Marco Bolognini (MAIO Legal) and Noelle Cajigas (KPMG Spain).