Patricia Balvanera

Patricia Balvanera
EducationUniversidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Iztapalapa; UNAM
Known forBiodiversity and ecosystem services; social–ecological systems; transdisciplinary sustainability research
Scientific career
FieldsEcology; sustainability science
WorkplacesNational Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Patricia Balvanera is a Mexican ecologist and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her research focuses on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social–ecological systems. She is an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Ecology and Society.

Early life and education

Balvanera studied biology at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Iztapalapa (UAM–Iztapalapa) and later earned both her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in ecology at UNAM.

Academic career

Balvanera is a professor at UNAM’s Institute for Ecosystems and Sustainability Research (Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, IIES) in Morelia, Mexico, where her work examines links between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being.

Research

Balvanera’s research has addressed (among other topics) social-ecological systems, ecosystem services, biodiversity, secondary tropical forest dynamics, and the plural values of nature in society.

She has lead syntheses, including the IPBES value's assessment related paper on nature’s diverse values, and work proposing “Essential Ecosystem Service Variables” (EESVs) for global monitoring.

Positions

Editorial work

Balvanera is an Editor-in-Chief of the social-ecological systems science journal Ecology and Society.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Our Editors". Ecology & Society. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  2. 1 2 "Patricia Balvanera". Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad (IIES), UNAM (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  3. ↑ "Dra. Patricia Balvanera Levy". Red del Agua UNAM (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  4. ↑ "Patricia Balvanera – Google Scholar". Google Scholar. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  5. ↑ Pascual, Unai; Balvanera, Patricia; et al. (2023). "Diverse values of nature for sustainability". Nature. 620 (7975): 813–823. Bibcode:2023Natur.620..813P. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06406-9. hdl:10810/66076. PMC 10447232. PMID 37558877.
  6. ↑ Balvanera, Patricia; Brauman, K. A.; Cord, A. F.; Drakou, E. G.; Geijzendorffer, I. R.; Karp, D. S.; Martín-López, B.; Mwampamba, T. H.; Schröter, M. (2022). "Essential ecosystem service variables for monitoring progress towards sustainability". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 54 101152. Bibcode:2022COES...5401152B. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101152.
  7. ↑ Pascual, Unai; Balvanera, Patricia; Christie, Michael, eds. (2022). Summary for Policymakers of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Report). Bonn, Germany: IPBES. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6522392.
  8. ↑ "Scientific Committee". PECS. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  9. ↑ "Essential Ecosystem Service Variables for Monitoring Progress Towards Sustainability". GEO BON. 17 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  10. ↑ "The contribution of GEO BON Ecosystem Services Workgroup to IPBES Global Assessment". GEO BON. 2 June 2019. Archived from the original on 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2025-11-05.