The SPAC was established by the CoP in 2013 to provide advice to the CoP and the IAI Directorate regarding the application and design of science in policy and decision making
(Past SPAC members here)
Current Composition of the SPAC
Carlos Joly
Universidade Estadual de Campinas/UNICAMP
Profesor Emérito de Ecología de las Plantas
Area of expertise: Biodiversity conservation, plant ecology, ecosystem services.
Appointment: 2023-2026 (Parties)
Gilma Mantilla
Columbia University. New York
Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
Area of expertise: Public Health, Climate Change, Epidemiology, Public Policies, Climate Health Education.
Appointment: 2023-2026 (Parties)
Inty Arcos
Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN) and Imaymana Foundation
Advisor on environmental governance and watershed management in the Mancomunidad del Chocó Andino, Director of the Chocó Andino Model Forest, Ecuador.
Area of expertise: Ecological Restoration at Landscape Scale, Sustainable Land and Water Management.
Appointment: 2023-2026 (Parties)
David Smith
(Vice-Chair)
University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Director of the Centre for Environmental Management
Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development
Area of expertise: ecology, climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk management, small island developing states.
Appointment: 2020-2023, 2023-2026 (Parties)
Margot Hurlbert
University of Regina
Canada Research Chair in Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability Policy; Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
Area of expertise: energy, natural resource, indigenous and environmental issues.
Appointment: 2022-2025 (Parties)
Carol Franco
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
Senior Research Associate
Advisor: Nature-based Solutions, Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic
Area of experience: Ecosystem services, food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, climate change negotiations (UNFCCC)
Appointment: 2022-2025 (SPAC)
María Amparo Martínez Arroyo
(President)
Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Area of expertise: marine biology, climate change, interdisciplinarity
Appointment: 2022-2025 (SPAC)
Makyba Charles-Ayinde
(alternate member)
Latin America and Caribbean Regional Lead – Future Earth USA-Hub
Area of expertise: Public Health and Policy
Appointment: 2024-2027 (Associates)
