Dr. Ermias Betemariam is a land health scientist at the Centre for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR–ICRAF). His research focuses on land degradation and restoration, soils, and spatial science to understand land health constraints, target interventions, and influence policy.
Dr. Ermias has served as a member of the Science-Policy Interface of the UNCCD, promoting dialogue between scientists and policymakers on desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD). He contributes to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), working on the scoping report for a thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, the determinants of transformative change, and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity. Furthermore, he serves as the Deputy Coordinator for IUFRO Resource Data in the Tropics.
In addition to his advisory and research roles, Dr. Ermias actively engages with academia as an Adjunct Professor at Addis Ababa University, where he mentors and inspires the next generation of environmental scientists and policymakers.
Dr. Ermias holds a BSc in Forestry from Alemaya University, Ethiopia; an MSc in Geo-information Sciences and Earth Observation for evaluating land degradation and restoration from ITC, University of Twente, the Netherlands; and a PhD in Ecology and Natural Resources from the University of Bonn, Germany.
