Mercedes Bustamante is a Brazilian scientist with a Ph.D. in Geobotany from the Universität Trier in Germany. She is a professor at University of Brasília in Brazil, and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. She has coordinated chapters of the 5th Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and of the 1st Regional Assessment for the Americas of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). She was a member of the Scientific Committee for reviewing the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) nitrous oxide report, Latin America representative in the International Nitrogen Initiative, member of the Scientific Committee of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and of the Biosphere-Atmosphere Program in the Amazon (LBA). She was General Coordinator of Ecosystem Management and Director of Policies and Thematic Programs in the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and Director of Brazilian Programs and Scholarships in the Coordination of Personnel Development (CAPES).

“SPA will help to bring light not only to the most relevant scientific facts about the region but also to solutions that can help society to build new development pathways based on sustainability and social justice”.