This disciple of Professor Ramon Margalef heads the Global Ecology Unit of the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He has recently been awarded one of the two new Awards for Research of Catalonia, sponsored by Talència, specifically in recognition of his scientific career. The Scientific Career Award was accompanied with a purse of 40,000 euros.

JORDI MONTANER | OCTOBER 18TH, 2010

Once reintroduced to the Vall d'Aran and neighboring areas in the 1990's, these newcomer brown bears have not stopped reproducing in the Pyrenees. But how many individuals are needed to meet the minimum for a viable population? Eighty to 200, according to experts, a goal far above today’s numbers.

JORDI MONTANER

Tall and serious, Jaume Terrades i Serra is a man of few words and who never speaks with prior deliberation. He is critical, but also exhibits a touch of melancholy well suited to this scientist who is also a poet. His book Ecologia viscuda (Experienced Ecology) is based on his own life as an ecologist. In the poem “Auca de los sesenta y pocos” (“Auca at sixty-something”), he bares his soul with a familiar tone and a certain playfulness. Professor Emeritus of Ecology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and member of the Institute of Catalan Studies, Terrades organized the first research team on terrestrial ecosystems in Spain and was one of the first proponents of environmental education in this country.

JORDI MONTANER | SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2010

There is no clear direction when it comes to sculpting policies that lead to successful environmental management. Politicians, economists, journalists, environmentalists, publishers, merchants, engineers and philosophers talk about climate change, sustainability and biodiversity without rhyme or reason. On the occasion of celebrating Earth Day, the Institute of Catalans Studies (IEC) asked for a pair of leading figures in environmental science, Carlos Montes and Ramon Folch to talk about what concerns them most regarding the state of the biosphere. Both experts are disciples, in turn, of two mythical figures of ecological studies in Spain: Fernando Gonzalez Hernandez and Ramon Margalef.

Jordi Montaner | 6 may 2010