Ljiljana Keča

Dr. Ljiljana Keča is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, specializing in Forest Economics, Policy, and Trade. She holds a PhD from the same institution and has over 25 years of academic experience, including roles as Deputy Head of the Department of Bioeconomics and founder of the Innovation Center for Economics, Trade, and Marketing in Forestry (CETM). Her research focuses on sustainable forest management, non-wood forest products (NWFP), and payment for ecosystem services (PES), with a strong emphasis on policy analysis and international collaboration.

Education: BSc (2000), MSc (2003), PhD (2009) in Forestry from the University of Belgrade. Professional Experience: Began as a student demonstrator in 2001, became an assistant in 2004, and advanced to Assistant Professor in 2010 before achieving Full Professor status. She has held visiting scholar positions at the University of Aberdeen, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Poznań University of Life Sciences.

Research Interests: She leads projects on forest valuation, trade policy, and marketing strategies. Key contributions include co-authoring books on Forestry Policy and NWFP trade, and publishing over 150 peer-reviewed articles. Notable projects include leading Serbia's initiatives under EU-funded programs (e.g., COST actions FP1403, FP1203) and managing national projects like the 'Chain of Creating Value of Forest Products.'

Publications: Over 150 articles, focusing on NWFP value chains, non-native species management, and PES frameworks. Her work spans journals like *Forestry*, *Forest Policy and Economics*, and *International Forestry Review*. She is a reviewer for *Baltic Forestry*, *SEEFOR*, and others.

Professional Affiliations: Member of IUFRO, COST, EFI, and the Serbian Forestry Engineers Association. She coordinates IUFRO Group 4.05.04 on forest-based value chains and actively participates in EU and international research consortia (e.g., Horizon 2020 POnTE project).

Labs/Teams: CETM focuses on multidisciplinary research in forest economics and policy. She has mentored numerous Master's and PhD students in NWFP valuation and forest policy analysis.