João Pedro Silva has more than 15 years of professional expertise in the field of EU environmental policy and related funding programmes. He has been involved in LIFE programme, first as a LIFE Nature project manager, and now as a contractor supporting the European Commission on LIFE programme communications, especially on nature conservation and biodiversity strand. He is experienced in nature conservation and biodiversity issues and in EU Biodiversity policy; he has 7 years of experience in providing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). João is a Portuguese professional with a PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid in Evolution Biology and Biodiversity.