Eduardo Rojas appointed member of the CIHEAM Advisory Committee

Eduardo Rojas Briales, professor at the School of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (ETSIAMN) and researcher at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València, has been appointed member of the Advisory Committee of the CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), an intergovernmental organisation created in 1962 under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the OECD.

This entity seeks to promote cooperation between Mediterranean countries through postgraduate training and the promotion of cooperative research in agriculture and natural resources.

To this end, it carries out problem-solving activities structured around four main lines of action: protection of the planet, inclusive development, food security and crisis and resilience to contribute to conflict resolution.

CIHEAM has 4 Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes located in Bari (Italy), Chania (Greece), Montpellier (France) and Zaragoza (Spain), and is composed of the following member countries: Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

With the appointment of Eduardo Rojas, there are now two professors from the ETSIAMN who are linked to this organisation, following the appointment of Raúl Compés as director of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) Zaragoza.

Who is Eduardo Rojas?

Eduardo Rojas Briales holds a degree in Forestry Engineering from the University of Freiburg (Germany) and a PhD in Forestry Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Since 2001 he has been a lecturer at the ETSIAMN, where he has taught forestry, sustainable forest management, European forest resources, nurseries and reforestation, landscaping and gardening, pastureland, forest breeding, renewable energies, disturbances, and climate change and fires.

Related to his university activity, in 2004, he was appointed Deputy Director of Academic Coordination of the ETSIAMN, being a key figure in developing the curriculum of the new Degree in Forestry and Natural Environment Engineering. He is currently a member of the University Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (ITACA) of the UPV. From 2017 to 2020, he coordinated the training programme that the Indian Forest Service organised for its future foresters abroad.

He is currently the Dean and President of the Official College of Forestry Engineers and the Association of Forestry Engineers, positions he has held since 2016. He is also the president of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), “the most important forest certification organisation in the world”, and since 2022 he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Fundació Pau Costa.

Previously, he was Assistant Director-General of the FAO and head of its Forestry Department (2010-2015) and UN Commissioner-General for Expo Milano 2015. He has also been the coordinator of Juntos por los Bosques (2016-22). This platform brings together the entire forestry sector in Spain.

Source: UPV’s Information Office