José Luis Rubio is Honorary President of WASWAC, Vice Chair of the European Soil Bureau Network, ESBN (JRC, EC) and Former President and co-founder of the European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC). He was the founder and director of the Desertification Research Center - CIDE (CSIC, Valencia, Spain). He has a track record of more than forty years of important contributions to the scientific study of soil degradation and conservation processes and intense scientific advisory activity to national and international organizations (UNCCD, FAO, NATO, OSCE, EU) and national. He is part of the scientific committees of the most important international associations dedicated to the study of the impact of climate change on soil/water. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and carries out intense scientific dissemination and communication work. He is a King James I winner for Environmental Protection (1996) and has received numerous other national and international awards and recognitions: in 2003 he received the Gold Medal from the Polish Academy of Soil Sciences. In May 2011, the ESSC awarded him the Gerold Richter Prize for his successful scientific career and achievements in soil conservation and improving social perception of it. In 2013 he received the Honor Award from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (AAA) for his scientific contributions. In 2015 he received the “For Advance in Soil Functions Analysis and Conservation” award from the Russian State Agricultural University of Moscow and in 2019 he received the Norman Hudson Memorial Award from WASWAC.