Prof. Dr. Bussmann earned his M.Sc. (Diploma) in Biology at Universität Tübingen, in 1993 and his doctorate at Universität Bayreuth in 1994. He is an ethnobotanist and vegetation ecologist, and currently Head of the Department of Botany at the State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Full Professor of Ehnobotany at Ilia State University. Before Dr. Bussmann was director of William L. Brown Center at Missouri Botanical Garden and held appointments as Research Fellow in Geography and the Environment at University of Texas at Austin, as Associate Professor of Botany and Scientific Director of Harold Lyon Arboretum at University of Hawaii, and at University of Bayreuth from 1994 to 2003. His work focuses on ethnobotanical research, and the preservation of traditional knowledge, in mountain regions. He has authored over 400 peer reviewed papers, over 1300 peer reviewed book chapters, and authored or edited 38 books.
Prof. Dr. ZaalKikvidze graduated in 1978 from Tbilisi State University (Georgia). He worked as a researcher in the National Academy of Sciences of Georgia and in the Institute of Teachers´ Training of Georgia and later graduated in the Certiï¬cate Course in Environmental Education at Jordanhill College, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. In 1993 he defended his Doctor of Science (Habil.) thesis. Dr. Kikvidze worked as Associate Researcher in Chiba University (Japan), as Ramon-y-Cajal Fellow in the Consejo Superior de las Investigaciones Cientíï¬cas (Spain), and Associate Professor of the University of Tokyo (Japan). The major lines of his research are plant community ecology, species diversity and geographical distributions on ecological gradients, rules of species coexistence and interactions among organisms, environmental education, ethno-ecology, and socio-ecology. In 2012 he became Professor of Ecology and 2014 Director of the Institute of Ethnobiology and Socioecology at Ilia State University.
Prof. Dr. Mostafa Elachouri is Professor at Mohammed first University, Oujda, Morroco, Department of Biology, laboratory of Physiology, Genetics and Ethnopharmacology. He obtained his BSc from University Mohammed V. Rabat (Morocco) in 1980. He continued his studies in Strasbourg-France, for his MSc degree. In 1985 Professor Elachouri Mostafa obtained his DSc at Luis Pasteur University of Strasbourg-France under the supervision of Professor J.A. Hoffman (Nobel Prize in Medicine 2011). In 1997 he obtained PhD in Zoology from Mons-Hainaut University in Mons-Belgium. His main area of interest focuses on Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biomedical Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. His area of expertise includes Ethnopharmacology, Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, Toxicology, Environmental sciences, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Taxonomy, Vernacular names, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Healthcare, Traditional Medicine, Toxic Plants, and Pesticides. He has published wide range of peer reviewed research articles and book chapters and edited several books.
