Reyes Tirado

I am a Research Scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories in the University of Exeter (UK) since September 2006, from where I work with my colleagues at Greenpeace offices around the world, leading field investigations and scientific analysis and contributing to the strategic development of global and national campaigns. My work focus on climate change and biodiversity, plant ecology, agriculture and food systems.

In 2018, Greenpeace launched “Less is More: Reducing Meat and Dairy for a Healthier Life and Planet”, the vision of the meat and dairy system towards 2050. I am lead authors on these reports, which can be found here: www.greenpeace.org/livestock_vision

The scope of my work is global; I have been lucky to do research work in many sites in Asia, Africa, America and Europe. In Asia I have researched some of the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture and documented solutions already being applied by farmers in China, India, Thailand and the Philippines. For example, we exposed nitrate pollution from synthetic fertilisers in Punjab and Bihar, India, where we also looked at systemic solutions that could help economic development through ecological farming with fertilisers, food and fuel. This global experience helped me developed the thinking behind the Greenpeace Vision for Ecological Farming.

The best part of my job is being able to talk and learn from people from around the world. I’ve been inspired by learning how farmers adapt to climate change in Kenya using ecological farming practices. One of my favourite recent projects was to document the success of agroecology in Cuba, to where we sailed from the Yucatán peninsula in the flagship Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior to facilitate the knowledge exchange between Mexican and Cuban farmers and scientists.

I also work on the relationship between land use, agriculture and climate change, looking especially to ways to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the intensive production of livestock. I coordinated the report Cool Farming: Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential.

Climate change mitigation and adaption, both in cities and rural areas, is an active part of my research and advocacy work.

Until 2006 I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Ackerly lab at the University of California - Berkeley and at Stanford University. I did my PhD in Spain, in the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC) in Almería and my undergraduate at the University of Seville, also in Andalusia, Spain.

In Sevilla, I volunteer for the civic group Red Sevilla por el Clima since 2016. In Ayamonte, my beautiful coastal home town, I joined a group of local women working to stop plastic pollution in our oceans with Ayamonte Love2Sea.

Here are some of my recent media and public speaking events both in Sevilla and internationally.