Matt Parr has spent nearly 30 years restoring natural processes in modified lowland UK riverscapes. As a geomorphologist at the Environment Agency in England for the past 13 years, he works in the drained landscapes of Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, advising colleagues and collaborating on river restoration projects. His experience spans managing fluctuating water levels and restoring groundwater-fed limestone rivers through reintroducing living and dead wood to support self-recovery. Matt has helped design and deliver numerous river restoration schemes, including Stage 0 and Stage 8 projects across England, promoting natural recovery through processes such as tree fall, wood jams, and tufa formation.

Fabien Kufel is the project manager for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) at the IUCN French Committee and has worked on this concept for seven years. After contributing to the LIFE Integrated ARTISAN project at the French Biodiversity Agency, he joined the IUCN program “Biodiversity Policies” in 2019 to promote the NbS in regional and territorial biodiversity strategies. Since 2023, within the team for ecosystems, he has focused on expanding the concept in France and abroad through publications, project assessments, training, and multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Senka Šifkovič is an environmental lawyer with a master’s degree in social anthropology who has worked in the non-governmental sector for 25 years. Her work focuses on systems, policies, and regulations concerning environmental protection, nature conservation, and spatial planning, with an emphasis on their improvement. A key part of her efforts is the effective implementation of the Aarhus Convention, particularly public participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice. Through advocacy based on in-depth analysis, she has contributed to significant policy and practice changes. At PIC – the Legal Centre for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment – she has led several successful court cases that shaped environmental decision-making. In recent years, her work has centered on climate change and the protection and restoration of nature.