Emmanuel is an assistant professor at the University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France, and an associate researcher at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In relation to his personal interest as a mountain recreationist, his research mainly relates to mountain areas, including the impact of climate change on tourism vulnerability and adaptation strategies, such as summer glacier skiing, glacier tourism and ski areas. He is also interested in the changing behavior of mountaineers in the face of changing mountain conditions. For example, his most recent research focused on alpinists’ perceptions of change and adaptation behaviors (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100662). He has recently begun work on water used for recreation and potential environmental impacts, and on degrowth as a solution for tourism adaptation and decarbonization.

His work has mainly focused on the European Alps, but he has also worked in the Pyrenees and has done some fieldwork in the New Zealand Alps and the Canadian Rockies. He is associate editor of the Journal of Alpine Research.

Professor Hussein Baghirov was born in 1955 in Quba Rayon, Azerbaijan. In 1978, he graduated from Baku State University with a degree in history. From 1978 to 1979, he worked at the Ministry of Education and then worked as a lecturer at the different post-graduate educational institutions.

From 1984 to 1985, he worked as a researcher and defended his Ph.D. thesis at the Academy of Sciences of USSR in Moscow. At the same year he received professorship from the Education Ministry of the USSR in 1990. Immediately after he was appointed rector of the Institute of Youth. In 1991, he established Western University in Baku. In 1998 he was awarded a Fullbright scholarship for researching and lecturing at Indiana University (United States). He served as the rector of Western University until 2000 until he was eventually appointed to the different positions in the government of Azerbaijan. Professor Baghirov is now The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Western Caspian University and Director of the Institute of Mountain Biodiversity, Landscapes, and Culture of the Western Caspian University (Which is a member of the Mountain Partnership Alliance of United Nations). Hussein Baghirov is a member of the Mountain Protection Commission of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) and a global advocate of sustainable development. He has quite a number of books and academic articles published in national and international scientific journals.

Her research is focused on environmental impacts of human activities in the World’s highest areas, predominantly in Karakorum and Hindukush. Her long-term research is related to Baltoro Glacier in the heart of the Karakorum – she is investigating its environmental state as well as the social and economic aspects of tourism in its wider area. At home she is conducting research in mountain conservation areas and is a lecturer at the Environmental College in Velenje, Slovenia. In her mountaineering career she is devoted to pure and ethical style ascents to highest elevations.

Dr. Jan Cools is passionate about the sustainable management of landscapes while also being an active mountaineer. In his academic research, he focuses on integrated water resources management, climate adaptation and sustainable development. Thereby, he integrates natural/engineering sciences with governance and social/economic sciences. He has 20 years of experience in projects for a number of international clients, including the European Commission and the United Nations.

Jan has a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is also an active mountaineer and mountain hiking guide. In 2006, he received the Austrian certificate of mountain hiking guide. He also contributed in the setting up of the UIAA approved programme in Flanders, Belgium to become Instructor Mountain Walking and Trekking (IMWT).

Jan Ivar Bøe is a member of Norwegian Alpine Club, and has earlier been a board member for the club. He is leading the club’s committee for the maintenance of the club’s three cottages in the Norwegian mountains. Since the late 1980 he has been climbing and ski-mountaineering, and served as a climbing instructor. In his professional life, Jan Ivar is educated in media and communications and works at the regional government, Viken County Council, where he is contributing as a special adviser with media and government relations and strategic communication planning. One of the important topics is communication on sustainable development, environmentally friendly and low emission transport in a regional context.

Jeannette is an accomplished high-altitude mountaineer and executive leader who is passionate about sharing mountain adventures plus leading individuals and teams to achieve things they never thought possible.

As an industrial technology executive, Jeannette has worked in remote locations and led the deployment of various key industrial technological advancements globally.
As a mountain leader she provides an opportunity for her clients to experience mountain landscapes and cultural interactions within a personalized and caring environment.

Her extensive experience was forged both above ground in the rugged Eastern Cape and Drakensburg mountains, and below ground in the deepest gold mines of South Africa. She has been a member of the Mountain Club of South Africa since 1986, and in 2019 was awarded the Eastern Cape Leopard Award for her 8000m summit success.

Jeannette has a PhD in Economic Geology from the Colorado School of Mines and is a past President of the Geological Society of South Africa. Besides being the second woman in South Africa to be issued an underground blasting certificate, she has worked for Tier 1 companies globally including Anglo American, Telstra and Aspen Technology. With compassion and wisdom created from extraordinary life experiences, Jeannette champions success for those in her teams and groups.

Johan has been involved in various fields of environmental research management in South Africa and the World. Between 1986 and 1996, under the auspices of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), he focused on improving the wildlife ranching industry in South Africa. Thereafter he joined the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa as Grants Manager for the Sustainable Development Research Theme. This work led to his appointment in 2002 as the founding Managing Director of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) until reaching the prescribed retirement age in 2021.

At the NRF, Johan supported many mountain research projects and programmes performed by South African universities, conservation agencies, non-government organisations and SAEON. Most but not all of those projects were located in protected areas. He extended his work internationally through involvement in the Executive Committee of the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER) and the Governing Board of the Global Ecosystem Research Infrastructure (GERI). Several publications and visits to mountain ecosystem research projects on six continents resulted from these international engagements. He also served on the Mid-Term Evaluation Panel of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) from 2019 to 2021.

As a Masters student in Wildlife Management at the University of Pretoria, he chaired Exploratio, the students’ mountaineering and rock-climbing club. Following formal employment by the ARC in 1987, he joined the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA), and served two terms as convenor of the Magaliesberg Section Conservation Subcommittee. In 2014, he achieved a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Stellenbosch Business School. Upon his retirement, his personal contribution to Global Change Research was recognised by the South African Department of Science and Innovation.

Today, Johan is still active in the MCSA as its representative on the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission and is a pro bono member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the eLTER Research Infrastructure in Europe. He enjoys the South African outdoors every day, while also taking care of a small family business.

A long time mountaineer, photographer, and member of the Alpine Club of Canada, Mary has spent the more than 12 years working as a mountain studies researcher with the Mountain Legacy Project (MLP) at the University of Victoria (UVic). With MLP she explored changes in Canada’s mountain landscapes through the world’s largest collection of systematic high-resolution historic mountain photographs (>120,000 images from 1861 to 1953) and a vast and growing collection of repeat images (>9,000 photo pairs). Now retired from UVic, Mary continues to be involved as an independent researcher and climate action advocate in many aspects of mountain studies including field work, grant writing and adjudicating, book and article writing, software development, and mountain landscape change analysis and assessment.

Mary is especially passionate about mountain photography and has had work appear in Discover Magazine, Canadian Geographic, and the Alpine Club of Canada’s State of the Mountains Report.

Pablo Rebolledo Dujisin is a geographer with an extensive background in mountaineering, environmental management, and public policy. While pursuing his university studies, he worked as a mountain guide in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, gaining in-depth knowledge of natural environments and the socio-environmental dynamics of these regions. Throughout his career, he has successfully integrated his academic expertise with professional practice in environmental conservation and sustainable development.

He is a member of the Chilean Mountaineering Federation (FEACH), a National Mountain Instructor (ENAM-Chile), and a member of the Chilean Association of Mountain Guides (ACGM). Additionally, he actively participates in international organisations such as the IUCN and the Global Regenerative Tourism Initiative.

Following his tenure in the public sector, where he led tourism development initiatives in Chile’s protected areas, he pursued an academic career in various universities. He currently serves as the Director of the School of Environmental Sciences and the School of Ecotourism at Universidad Andrés Bello. His teaching encompasses territorial planning, Chilean biogeography, and post-development studies, in addition to lecturing in postgraduate programmes on circular economy and local development.

He is also a member of the Chilean Society of Geographical Sciences (SOCHIGEO) and has published academic articles on mountain environments, wetland conservation, and the role of mountain guides. Furthermore, he has contributed to books and manuals aimed at disseminating the environmental values of mountainous regions.

By profession, he is a geographer and holds a degree in tourism studies. In addition to several postgraduate qualifications, he holds a master’s degree in environmental studies and another in human development, and he is currently pursuing a PhD in Development Studies at the University of Lisbon.

As Board Member of the Royal Dutch Alpine Club (NKBV; 2012-2021) and associate member of the NKBV Sustainability Committee, Paul has been driving the sustainability program for NKBV together with volunteers and further stakeholders with the aim to reduce or offset carbon emissions for the NKBV´s professional organization and activity portfolio, whilst raising awareness for what members can do themselves as well.

Following his academic geography study, he took up various roles involving communications, sustainability reporting, and has been active in environmental programs and ESG (reporting) topics for his current employer, one of the largest European energy distribution companies. Paul studied geography; he and his wife live in a tiny house in the Netherlands and are passionately enjoying mountain sports in summer and winter.

Valeska was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Initially purely a hobby, Valeska’s interest in the mountains became part of her studies at college with a focus on research and environmental protection. In 2011, she started to practice rock climbing and mountaineering in both Asia and South America. Since 2013 she has been associated to Serra do Cipo Climbers Association (AESC), and to “Mineira” Climbing Association (AME), contributing to climbing development. Valeska is currently running a Working Group at AESC dedicated to trail management and minimal impact, as well as running a management plan at Baú Rocks (a noted rock site in her home state). She has also worked with local guides at Serra do Cipo to construct an association, one involved in directly combatting fires at the Serra do Cipo National Park. She also is founder of a Research Institute (www.serradical.org.br) that deals with scientific and conservation research, and scientific tourism. She also is affiliated to CEM, a state trekking club, where she lectures about environmental conservation, and performs reforestation programmes with volunteers.

Born in Oporto Vasco graduated in Architecture in 2000 at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Oporto, Portugal. Since 2018, he is an independent expert of the European Commission for spatial and urban planning issues. Through the University College London, and in 2017 Vasco finished a postdoctoral period of 4 years in Brazil, Portugal and UK, about the application of Space Syntax to urban planning. He got his Ph.D. in Spatial Planning and Territorial Development at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2013.

Vasco also holds a Master in “Management in Sustainable Land Use Planning” from the University of Santiago de Compostela. He completed his postgraduate degree in “Environmental Management and Land Use Planning” at the Superior Institute of Viana do Castelo. During these years, Vasco won prizes in international competitions in architecture in the areas of contemporary architecture and urban planning. On top of his independent expertise to the European Commission, he is a member of the European Science Foundation, College of Research Associates.