German Kust

German Kust, from 2017, is principal researcher in the Institute of Geography of Russian Academy of sciences, and the head of the Scientific Coordination Center to Combat Desertification and Drought. He has been working on desertification/land degradation issues since 1988, as researcher and a professor in soil science and environmental ecology at the Soil Science Faculty of the Moscow Lomonosov State University, then as the Executive Director, Head of the laboratory of soil resources and ecological projecting, at the Institute of Environmental Soil Science, and as a Head of the Department of Soil Erosion and Conservation in Moscow Lomonosov State University.

His professional interests include sustainable management of natural resources, environmental land management, soil science, environmental and agricultural ecology, environmental education, biodiversity conservation, environmental services and remote sensing.  He has also been working as independent consultant and expert with several international organizations including the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNCCD and the GEF.  In 1996, he gained the Doctor of Biology (Doctor habilitatus) degree in "Desertification and soil evolution in dry areas” and in 1988 a Ph.D. degree in “Soil alkalinity phenomenon and its diagnostics”. He has taught courses on soil evolution, environmental doctrine, remote sensing application in environmental sciences, global mechanism of environmental and natural resources management, methodology of soil systematics, theory and practice of landscape designing and GIS technologies in environmental sciences.