Tenured scientist at Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA), CSIC.

Jaime Martínez Valderrama holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He specializes in Desertification and Global Change, with a primary research focus on understanding the relationship between land use and its environmental impacts, particularly in arid regions. His work involves the use of integrated simulation models that link socioeconomic variables with their biophysical impact.

He has published numerous articles in high-impact journals, and his research has been utilized by various public and private institutions. Notably, he contributed to the development of the Desertification Early Warning System for Spain's Ministry of the Environment and has served as an advisor to MITECO in designing the National Strategy to Combat Desertification.

As a researcher at CSIC, where he holds a permanent position, and at the University of Alicante, he has participated in 25 research projects. He is also dedicated to science communication, regularly writing popular science articles, contributing to various science outreach blogs, and serving as editor of Arida Cutis. Additionally, he is the author of Deserts and Desertification and Desertification, Land in Troubled Waters.

Currently, he leads the ATLAS project, which aims to develop a desertification atlas for Spain, and collaborates with the Xinjiang Institute of Geography and Ecology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences on desertification studies in NW China.