Maryam Rahmanian is an international consultant on issues related to biodiversity and agroecology. She was a Research Associate at the Centre for Sustainable Development and Environment (CENESTA), an Iranian NGO from 2001 to 2014, where she initiated the programme on Participatory Plant Breeding, working with farmers and breeders to develop varieties adapted to climate change. She was Vice Chair of the High Level Panel of Experts of the Commitee on World Food Security for two terms (2010 to 2015) and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food study (TEEBAgriFood). She has also been a Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany.