Panel members

Director for “Biodiversity, Ecofarming, Climate, International Affairs” at the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) in Bonn, Germany.

Holding an MSC in agricultural sciences and a PhD in plant genetic resources, Frank Begemann worked at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR; today Bioversity International) at the FAO in Rome and the University of Zambia (UNZA) in Lusaka, Zambia. After his return to Germany he worked for a short while at the genebank at IPK in Gaterleben before joining today´s BLE in Bonn. Frank is experienced in national, European and international networks and inter-governmental fora, including the FAO´s CGRFA and ITPGRFA, CGIAR, ECPGR and ERFP.

Director of the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN) of Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands.

Sipke Joost coordinates the Dutch national programme on genetic resources (crops, farm animals, aquatic and forest species) for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. He also heads the Animal Genetic Resources group at the Dutch Centre for Genetic Resources, which is a consortium partner of the GenRes Bridge project. Sipke Joost has a background in animal breeding and has been National Coordinator for Animal Genetic Resources for 20 years. At European level, he was Chair of the Steering Committee of the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP), between 2015 and 2021.

Director of Nature and Forests Agency, Ministry of Environment, Climate and sustainable Development, Luxembourg.

Frank Wolter began his career with research on forest management in tropical countries, including DRC, Niger and Algeria. He worked for Monsanto-Agriculture in Brussels, managing information systems, before joining the Nature and Forests Agency, Luxembourg with responsibility for forest management, forest research, forest genetics, international forestry and IT in forestry. As Deputy Director, his work included management and coordination of international forest policies and the National Forest Program. Frank holds an engineering degree and PhD in forestry from Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Senior Expert at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Unit Research and Innovation, Brussels, Belgium.

Annette Schneegans is a senior expert at the European Commission, with a track record of almost 20 years on European research policy and research funding, notably in the areas of life sciences and agriculture. Within her current activities, Annette is responsible for research programming in the areas of crop production and natural resources. This includes overseeing the research portfolio on plant genetic resources and breeding. As secretariat for the Mission Board Soil Health and Food she has contributed to the development of Horizon Europe mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” and will be involved in its implementation. Annette has an academic background in agricultural sciences and international agricultural development with a focus on plant nutrition.  

Senior Expert in the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.

Anne Teller graduated as a Forest Engineer from the University of Brussels and completed her MSc in Forest and its Relation to Land Management at Oxford University. She has more than thirty years experience in European environmental policy and has worked at regional, national, European and international level. Her specific domain of interest is improving the knowledge and evidence base for environment policy. Anne coordinated the first EU-wide ecosystem assessment to support biodiversity policy. In this context, she promoted the establishment of well-organised and standardised information systems on biodiversity, ecosystems and their services – i.e. ecosystems accounts – to be used consistently across sectors and by decision-makers

Policy Officer, Directorate-General for climate action, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.

Born and raised in Germany, Peter Löffler moved to Brussels in 1997 to work for the EU. He is currently Policy Officer in the unit responsible for adaptation to climate change of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action. Within this unit, his main fields are forests, nature and biodiversity, human health, the LIFE programme, and the Climate-ADAPT knowledge platform. Earlier in his career, Peter worked in the Commission’s Environment and Research DGs, in one of the Commission’s Executive Agencies and, outside EU institutions, in European networks on green energy and sustainable urban development. Peter holds an engineering degree in environmental, town and country planning, and a PhD in urban governance and sustainable development.