Merlin Leunda Martiarena is a junior research fellow at the Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is a scholarship holder and serves as the field manager for the EU-funded DeSIRA-Malmon project “Mangroves, mangrove rice, mangrove people: sustainably improving rice production, ecosystems and livelihoods”. His PhD project focuses on the characterization and the development of the Mangrove Swamp Rice Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Guinea-Bissau, merging research with action. Since 2017, he has been actively involved in innovative agro-ecological projects in Guinea-Bissau, working across both private and non-profit sectors.

Emmanuel Jesús Céspedes Rivera holds a degree in Geography from the University of Costa Rica. He specializes in the management and application of satellite imagery in agriculture and natural resource studies, focusing on deforestation analysis and crop monitoring. His expertise encompasses the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and the application of machine learning models to research challenges in these domains. Currently, Emmanuel is a recipient of a scholarship from the EU-funded Malmon–DeSIRA Project. He is in the second year of his Master's program in Green Data Science at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon, with fieldwork in Guinea-Bissau.

Marta Pedro Varanda is a sociologist and associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences of ISEG (Lisbon School of Economics and Management, ULisboa, Portugal), and researcher at ISEG research. Her research focuses on water governance, specifically the collective management of groundwater. Her favourite methodologies are action research, participatory methodologies, and social network analysis with an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. Her last research project was eGROUNDWATER (2020-2024), funded by the PRIMA Foundation.

Matilda Merkohasanaj is a junior research fellow at the Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Portugal. She is a recipient of a PhD scholarship from the EU-funded DeSIRA-Malmon project, titled “Mangroves, mangrove rice, mangrove people: sustainably improving rice production, ecosystems, and livelihoods.” Her PhD research focuses on addressing soil fertility and toxicity challenges in mangrove rice production in Guinea-Bissau. Since 2017, she has actively participated in various environmental and agricultural projects, aiming to contribute to natural resource conservation and the sustainable development of agro-ecological systems.

Bissanagha Antonio Dos Santos, a geographer specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the management of fragile mangrove ecosystems, holds a Master’s degree in Development and Land Use Planning from Assane Seck University in Ziguinchor, Senegal. Since 2017, he has been working on the DEDURAM (Sustainable Development of Mangrove Agriculture) project in Guinea-Bissau with the French NGO Univers-SEL. He leads initiatives in rice cultivation, rural development, and water management. As an expert in hydro-rice field development, he conducts assessments for partner NGOs, proposes land use plans, and engages in innovative projects to promote the sustainable development of mangrove ecosystems and communities.

Marina Padrão Temudo is a senior research fellow at the Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Portugal. She has conducted extensive ethnographic field research on development and conservation in Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, S. Tomé and Príncipe, and in the Republic of Guinea. At present, she is the PI of the EU-funded DeSIRA-Malmon project “Mangroves, mangrove rice, mangrove people: sustainably improving rice production, ecosystems and livelihoods”.