Driving Sustainable Innovation: The GRAS Advisory Board 

In collaboration with our project partners, the Advisory Board plays a pivotal role in shaping GRAS’s strategic vision by providing expert insights and scientific guidance across its core areas of focus.

Established in 2017, the GRAS Advisory Board convenes regularly to discuss key strategic initiatives and remain updated on advancements in remote sensing, deforestation-free supply chains, carbon stock assessments, social indices, renewable resources, and agricultural and forestry markets. The board comprises a diverse group of scientific experts, NGOs, and industry representatives who contribute to refining GRAS’s methodologies and strategies, ensuring they align with the latest trends and challenges in sustainability. This collaborative effort strengthens GRAS’s ability to deliver impactful solutions and foster innovation.

GRAS is proud to have the following distinguished members on its Advisory Board:

Dr. Daniel Doktor

  • Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
  • Head of the Remote Sensing of Ecosystems Working Group

Dr. Daniel Doktor studied Geography in Münster (Diplom) and afterwards worked at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Potsdam. After earning a PhD at Imperial College London – focussing on remote sensing and plant phenology – he started as a PostDoc in the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ. He now leads the working group Remote Sensing of Ecosystems focussing on the impacts of climate and global change on vegetation deriving e.g. vegetation dynamics and land-use / land-cover or land-use intensities from time series of optical-reflective satellite data. He has been leading several third party funded projects (BMWI, BfN, EU) and was also involved in high-level UFZ strategic processes.

Marion Hammerl

  • Co-founder of Fundación Global Nature España and key figure in Global Nature Fund.
  • Former President and current board member of Fundación Global Nature.

Marion Hammerl is an Economist and co-founder of various environmental organizations – one of them the Fundación Global Nature España, a national wide active NGO. Until 2015 she was President of Fundación Global Nature (honorary position) and is still member of the board of directors. She was very much engaged in the creation of the Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the international Living Lakes Network. Since summer 2002 she is the President of GNF (honorary position). From 1998 – 2022, Marion was Managing Director of Lake Constance Foundation and coordinator of numerous EU-supported projects. Within other topics, Marion is specialized in sustainable tourism development, environmental management systems (EMAS and ISO), management of water resources and business and biodiversity. She supported very much the creation of the Food for Biodiversity initiative and is an expert on food standards and biodiversity related aspects.

Marion received various awards for her engagement for the protection of nature.

Jens Hönerhoff

  • DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
  • Vice President Sustainability

Jens Hönerhoff is energy and process engineer and works since 2007 as senior environmental specialist for the DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, the private sector development financing branch of the KfW group. As vice president for sustainability he is inter alia responsible for the development of the WWF-DEG “Water Risk Filter”, the mapping tool for water risks.

Dr Rafaël Schneider

  • Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.
  • Deputy Director Policy & External Relations
  • Coordination Food Security Standard (FSS)

Rafaël Schneider (Dr. rer. nat.) is geographer and works since 2007 for the Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V., a private organisation acting in the area of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. As deputy director of the Policy Division and coordinator of the Food Security Standard Project, he addresses development policies related to global food security, rural development, agriculture, nutrition and the Human Right to Food. Before, he has been coordinator at the German Development Service (DED) in N’Djaména (Chad) and senior advisor in a DED-GTZ-Program on rural development in Natitingou (Benin).