Josef (Sepp) works at the UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Halle/Germany, where he heads the group on “animal ecology and social-ecological systems”. He holds a PhD in agriculture and is professor of ecology at the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg. Before being co-chair of the Global Assessment of IPBES, he acted as LA in the Asia-Pacific Assessment and as CLA of the Pollination Assessment. He also was CLA of the 5^th

Assessment Report of IPCC. His research focusses on the interface of land use, climate and biological diversity.