Our Team

Principal Investigator
University of Bristol
maria.escobar@bristol.ac.uk

I am a cultural and environmental geographer with a background in Political Science and History. My research focuses on environmental governance, livestock farming and environmental politics. I interrogate notions of sustainability and study farming practices around water, conservation and antimicrobial resistance. My research is interdisciplinary and international: from dairy farms in Somerset to subsistence rural economies in Colombia’s páramos (highland wetlands), intensive livestock farming in Argentina and agri-environmental initiatives in Colombia’s Amazonian region.

Co-Investigator
Scotland’s Rural College
andrew.barnes@sruc.ac.uk

I am an economist whose main interest is around understanding and modelling behaviours for sustainable production. I have conducted a number of studies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa working with natural scientists to understand the barriers to uptake and the supply-chain constraints around adoption of technologies and techniques.
My main role in BioSmart is working with Ignacio to understand the determinants of adoption for farmers across the Colombian Amazon. This involves examining questionnaire data (working with CIAT), modelling behaviours and conducting economic experiments on risk preferences of our silvopastoral farmers.

Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Reading
l.kinneen@reading.ac.uk

I am a tropical ecologist with a background in botany, invertebrate ecology and conservation biology. I have been lucky enough to carry out extended fieldwork in a number of highly diverse and exciting places and through research and travel I have developed a strong interest in the relationship between people and biodiversity.
I joined the BioSmarties to work with Dr Mike Garratt at the University of Reading, to assess the conservation value and ecological impacts of silvopastoral systems using invertebrates as indicator taxa.

Postdoctoral Researcher
Scotland’s Rural University College
ignacio.sepulveda@sruc.ac.uk

I am an engineer with a masters in environmental science from the University of Edinburgh. I have worked in difference companies and areas in recent years, from industries to agri companies and universities.
My main interest nowadays is data science and building prediction models, particularly relating to the the environment.
Along with Andrew, my role in BioSmart will be focused on data analysis from behavioural studies and agricultural data, in order to create models that allow further understanding of silvopastoral systems at different scales.

Postdoctoral Researcher
Scotland’s Rural University College
louisa.knocker@sruc.ac.uk

I am an environmental economic modeller with a Masters in Environmental Science. I am particularly interested in climate change, biodiversity and land use – and how food systems affect these core topics. My background is in Biological Sciences, and I have several years’ experience within sustainability consultancy, working with global brands to reduce their environmental impacts. Within the BioSmart team, I am working with Andrew to carry out a life cycle analysis of beef / dairy production systems to investigate the effects of introducing silvopastoral systems.

Alliance Bioversity-CIAT

Marcela Quintero is the Research Director for the Multifunctional Landscapes Lever of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. Marcela brings almost two decades of experience to this position and was most recently the leader of the Agroecosystems and Sustainable Landscapes research area at CIAT. Marcela’s work combines ecological approaches and agronomy principles to make landscapes more sustainable. Her research has focused on economic and financial incentives, watershed management, environmental impact assessments and design and implementation of sustainable land-use strategies. Marcela has worked as well for development organizations including GIZ, CONDESAN and Forest Trends. Marcela is Ecologist from Universidad Javeriana (Colombia) and holds a Ph.D. in agronomy from the University of Florida.

Alliance Bioversity-CIAT

Miguel Romero is Associate Researcher of Multifunctional Landscapes Research Area of the Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT. Miguel has professional experience in environmental impacts of the agricultural sector. Experience on identification, formulation and validation of sustainable production practices. Quantification of water footprint and carbon footprint. Technical Secretary of the National Agreement for Zero Deforestation and Paramos Protection in the dairy value chain in Colombia. Miguel is agronomist engineer and has master degree in Agricultural Sciences from the National University of Colombia, and he is PhD Student on Crop Production at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Agroecology engineer

I teach botany at the University of Amazonia and I am a researcher with experience in plant taxonomy (specialised in the Araceae family), biodiversity, ethnobotany, management and sustainable use of natural resources, integrated management of hydrographic basins, environmental impact studies and alternative agricultural systems. I joined the BioSmart project in 2018 as a botanical expert for the collection and identification of the floral diversity of the pastures and forests sampled in the study.

Lecturer at the Universidad de la Amazonia
Entomologist

I am a Biologist, interested in the study of insects, mainly the Neotropical ones. I specialise in both their taxonomy and ecological aspects. I also have knowledge and experience in the area of forensic entomology. I lead the Grupo de Investigación en Entomología at the Universidad de la Amazonia.

Research Assistant
Universidad de la Amazonia

I joined the BioSmart project to collaborate with Dr Mike Garratt and Dr Lois Kinneen on the invertebrate team.
I am a researcher in tropical insects and spiders, with an emphasis on the Colombian Amazon in order to strengthen scientific knowledge in the country from the Entomology Laboratory at the University of the Amazon- LEUA.

Research Assistant
Tropical Forage Program – Alliance Bioversity-CIAT
l.hernandez@cgiar.org

I have a Master of Science in Agronomical Sciences with expertise in biological control and plant resistance to arthropods. I joined the BioSmart project to work with Dr Lois Kinneen and Dr Mike Garratt, sampling invertebrates across different livestock systems in order to understand how plant diversification promotes invertebrate diversity.

Research Assistant
Universidad de la Amazonia
cesar.cano117@gmail.com

I joined the BioSmart team to support the botanical work. I helped establish survey transects, assisted with the collection of tree specimens in the forest and processed and preserved the collections. I also helped with species identification. I am very passionate about botany but my interests also extend to the different livestock systems present in the Colombian department of Caquetá. Their interactions with the environment and the ecosystem benefits of tropical forest., in turn, the local knowledge of rural families on environmental issues and the uptake of new technologies to improve the quality of life.

Research Assistant
Universidad de la Amazonia

I joined as support for the plant biodiversity team. I am an engineer in Agro-ecology, and an MSc. candidate focused on soil science. I have worked evaluating the biochemistry properties of Amazonian soils in the Amazonian Institute of Scientific Research (SINCHI), and as a field technician on a research project investigating the microbial diversity in tropical forests with the Universidad de la Amazonia, where I had the opportunity to carry out floristic surveys.

Research Assistant
Universidad de la Amazonia

I am studying Agriecological Engineering at the Unviersity of the Amazonia in Florencia, in the department of Caquetá, Colombia. There, I work with my lecturer Edwin Trujillo. My interests are Botany and Plant taxonomy, with particular focus on tropical forest flora.

Research Assistant
Alliance Bioversity-CIAT
e.sachet@cgiar.org

I joined the BIOSMART team to support the collection of local stories and perceptions via observations, interviews, and focus groups with Dr. Adriana Suarez DeLucchi and Dr. María Paula Escobar. I previously worked in the study area within participatory (action) research methods. I am currently a PhD fellow at the University of Copenhagen.