Keynote speakers for IALE Europe Congress 2025
Professor Marc Metzger
Marc is an interdisciplinary professor of environment and society at the University of Edinburgh. Over the last 20 years he has contributed to a wide range of interdisciplinary projects focusing on the potential impacts of global environmental change on ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Initial work focused on mapping the vulnerability ecosystem services to global change. This sparked an interest in scenario development and stakeholder engagement, and understanding normative visions of sustainable land use. His recent work focuses on transdisciplinary collaborations with non-academic partners, aiming for useful and usable insight that can be used to support sustainable land management. Marc has co-authored over 100 academic papers, mostly focused on aspects of sustainable land use, ecosystem services and natural capital in the context of the global change challenges. He is director of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes, chairs the UK National Committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, and is president of Landscape Ecology UK, the UK region of IALE.
Professor László Miklós
László Miklós is a prominent Slovak landscape ecologist and geographer. Since 1973, he has been a scientific researcher at the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He also served as a professor at the Technical University in Zvolen until his retirement.Over the course of his career, László has co-authored more than 200 academic papers, with his research primarily focused on landscape as a geosystem, slope dynamics, ecological networks, landscape planning and the theory and methodology of landscape ecology.In addition to his academic contributions, Miklós has taught at various universities in Slovakia and internationally, including Roskilde University Centre, Universität für Bodenkultur in Vienna, Technische Universität Wien, and Szent István University in Gödöllő.Miklós has also held several key governmental roles. He served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Minister of Environment, and as a member of the Slovak Parliament. His research has been effectively applied in shaping environmental policy, legislation, and planning processes in Slovakia.His influential work has earned him numerous prestigious awards, further underscoring his impact on landscape ecology, environmental policy, and education both in Slovakia and internationally.