Dr Juana Delia Palma-Martínez

Short CV

Dr. Juana Delia Palma-Martínez studied forestry at the Universidad de La Frontera University of Chile. Since her graduation decided to dedicate her professional life to the study of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) by coordinating several projects and working with indigenous communities in southern Chile. She got her doctoral degree from Freiburg University, Germany in 2011, where she studied sampling methods for NTFPs.

Her research focuses on the key role that indigenous communities imprint on NTFPs, which is the first step for the understanding of the real importance of these products. She also looks at biodiversity conservation through the development of skills and methods for a sustainable harvest of NTFPs. Between 2014 and 2022 was a researcher in the Forest Research Institute of Chile (INFOR) where she coordinated five-research project in relation to indigenous communities, three of them on vegetative material for basketry carried out on the coastal range evergreen forests of Araucanía, Los Ríos and Chiloé Island. The other two projects focused on wild edible mushrooms carried out on the Andean evergreen forest in Panguipulli.

Dr. Juana Palma has been published several research papers, books, book chapters and practical guides for the sustainable recollection of NTFPs and has co-supervised 11 diploma theses in various Universities in Chile (Universidad Austral, Universidad de la Frontera, Universidad Católica de Temuco) and Germany (University of Greifswald, University of Freiburg). Between 2021 and 2023 was the Head of the Chilean Non Governmental Organization “Foresters for the Native Forest” (AIFBN).