Herbert Prins is Professor Emeritus in Resource Ecology at Wageningen University. He studied the ecology of African savannas but also Asian high-altitude ecosystems. He (co-)authored several hundred scientific publications and edited a number of books on ecology for different publishers. He supervised the work of one hundred PhD students. He is Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark and Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau for his contribution to conservation.
Iain Gordon holds Honorary Professorships from the Australian National University, Central Queensland University and Lincoln University in New Zealand, Honorary Fellowships from CSIRO and the James Hutton Institute. Over the past 35 years, he has gained an international reputation for scientific leadership and research excellence in interdisciplinary approaches, particularly in the context of managing land use to benefit biodiversity. In recognition of his contribution to science, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in 1995 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.