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The Scientific Advisory Board for Nature-based Climate Action
The Scientific Advisory Board for Nature-based Climate Action (WBNK) is an interdisciplinary body of 15 scientists. It advises the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on issues of nature-based climate action and provides scientific support in the implementation of the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity (ANK). The advisory work includes expert reports, recommendations, and statements aimed at the preservation, enhancement and restoration of natural and near-natural ecosystems in order to achieve the climate targets under § 3a of the Federal Climate Action Act and to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Experts from various fields use their experience to make a significant contribution to the protection, enhancement, and restoration of forests, floodplains, soils, peatlands, seas, water bodies, and urban green spaces.
The aim of the WBNK is to ensure that publicly funded measures for nature-based climate action have the greatest possible impact, particularly with regard to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting biodiversity. To this end, the Advisory Board also considers and evaluates links and interactions between the various measures in the Action Plan and provides impetus for further development in the future.
Prof. Dr. Matthias Drösler is a landscape ecologist, professor of vegetation ecology at Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT), and director of the Peatland Science Centre (PSC). He was a coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is a member of nature conservation advisory boards in Bavaria. He initiated the international Master’s degree programme Climate Change Management at HSWT. His work focuses on the ecological functions of peatlands, in particular their importance for climate mitigation, biodiversity and alternative wetland management options, including paludiculture and restoration.
Anke Herold is a geo-ecologist by training and acting CEO of the Oeko-Institut. She has been a member of Germany’s delegation to the international climate negotiations for more than 20 years, and has also served with the European Union’s delegation. She has acted as chief EU negotiator on transparency, monitoring and verification at the international climate negotiations and was involved in the drafting of the Paris Agreement. She has also acted as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and performed other roles for various IPCC reports. From 2008 to 2018 she held the post of research coordinator for international climate policy at the Oeko-Institut. Throughout that period she led numerous projects at national, European and international level covering a broad range of issues. Her research also focuses on reviewing and monitoring compliance with greenhouse gas mitigation targets and evaluating mitigation actions.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Bolte is a forest scientist, head of the Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems and associated professor of forest ecology at the University of Göttingen. His research focuses on investigating the impact of climate change on forests and forestry and developing sustainable strategies for the adaptation and protection of forest ecosystems. His work includes studies on biodiversity, carbon storage and sustainable forestry.
Prof. Dr. Mariele Evers is a physical geographer, professor for geography, and head of the Eco-Hydrology and Water Resources Management working group at the University of Bonn, as well as holder of the UNESCO Chair in Human-Water Systems. Ms Evers’ research focuses broadly on sustainable water management, with a particular emphasis on hydrological extremes, river basin management and the interactions between climate, water and humans. Integrative and systemic approaches and the inclusion of practical perspectives are particularly important for her research. Her central concern is the integrated consideration of hydrological extremes, biodiversity and climate protection.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Gattinger is an agronomist and soil scientist and professor of organic farming at Justus Liebig University in Giessen. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Julius Kühn Institute and the Executive Board of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL Germany). His research interests focus on agroecology and organic farming methods, particularly with regard to their role in climate protection and climate adaptation. Among other things, he researches how agroforestry and integrated animal-plant systems contribute to climate protection and improve the stability of agricultural systems.
Prof. Dr. Harald Grethe heads the Agricultural Development and Trade Group at Humboldt University of Berlin. His research interests lie in the field of equilibrium modelling of the agricultural and food system and its role in society at large. He is committed to promoting exchange between science, politics and society in various capacities. From 2012 to 2020, he was chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Agricultural Policy and Food at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and since 2022 he has been co-director of the newly founded think tank Agora Agrar.
Prof. Dr. Rieke Hansen is a landscape architect and professor at the Institute of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning at the University of Kassel. Her research focuses on the innovative potential of concepts such as green infrastructure, ecosystem services, and nature-based solutions for sustainable urban development. In doing so, she brings together ecological and social issues. She designed the „Urban Nature Toolbox“ (Werkzeugkasten Stadtnatur), which local authorities can use to develop multifunctional green infrastructure that promotes biodiversity.
Prof. Dr. Pierre Ibisch is a biologist, professor for socioecology of forest ecosystems at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, and co-founder of the ECONICS INSTITUTE. The focus of his research is on how to manage ecosystems and protect nature in the context of climate change. He is especially interested in the role of forests in ecological processes and how important they are for biodiversity. He advocates a systemic approach to sustainability that considers both ecological and social factors. He also explores how sustainable natural resource management can be made more effective by learning from complex ecological systems.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Köck is Professor of Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Leipzig and, until 31 March 2024, headed the Department of Environmental and Planning Law at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research for over 20 years. His areas of research include European and national environmental law, spatial planning law, environmental energy law and agri-environmental law. He also works on the fundamentals of environmental law, the transformation of the energy system, the agricultural and food sector, sustainable urban development and the sustainable development of rural areas. Prof. Köck has also been a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) since 2021.
Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz is a geographer, Professor of Physical Geography and Land Use Systems, and Director of the Department of Geography at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich. Her research focuses on the interactions between land use and climate. She combines Earth system and carbon cycle modeling with Earth observation to study the role of forests and agricultural land in the global climate system and their potential to reduce and store greenhouse gas emissions.
Prof. Dr. Katrin Rehdanz is an economist, professor of economics at Kiel University, and director of the Institute for Environmental, Resource and Regional Economics. Her research focuses on environmental and energy economics, as well as social acceptance of related policy measures and climate protection strategies. She also examines the impact of these measures on households and businesses.
Prof. Dr. Josef Settele is an agricultural biologist, Professor at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Leipzig, Adjunct Professor of Ecology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and a member of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). His research focuses on the conservation and evolutionary biology of insects, biodiversity and land use, as well as inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation and project coordination in the field of biodiversity. Within the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), he served as Co-Chair of the Global Assessment. He is also a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU).
Dr. Franziska Tanneberger is a landscape ecologist and co-director of the Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC). Her research interests are habitat selection and ecology of fen mire species in Central and Eastern Europe and in Siberia, site-adapted land use on near-natural and rewetted fens and utilisation options for fen biomass, assessment of ecosystem services of rewetted fens, and the distribution and condition of mires and peatlands in Europe. She heads the nationwide projects ‘PaludiZentrale’ and ‘PaludiAllianz’ at the University of Greifswald and works closely with land users and political decision-makers. In 2024, she received the German Environmental Award for her commitment to the revitalisation of peatlands and as a bridge builder between science, politics and agriculture.
Prof. Dr. Vicky Temperton is an ecologist and Professor of Ecosystem Functioning and Services at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Her research focuses on biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems, particularly on how interactions among plant species affect ecosystem processes. A central part of her work lies in restoration ecology, where she investigates how plant–environment interactions respond to global change and how strategies can be developed to enhance ecosystem resilience and restoration success. Her research places special emphasis on the sustainable restoration and management of grasslands, but also other habitat types.
Dr. Michael Zschiesche is a legal scholar and economist and serves as Managing Director of the Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) in Berlin. His research and advisory work focus on environmental and climate protection law, particularly on legal instruments and policy frameworks that promote the protection, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems. He is an expert and consultant for the German Bundestag, federal agencies, standardization bodies, and environmental organizations. Dr. Zschiesche’s work emphasizes transparency, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters. He has led numerous national and international environmental projects and is an experienced moderator of public participation processes.
