João Pato (Lisbon, 1974) is researcher of postdoctoral in Institute of Social Sciences of Lisbon University (ICS-UL) and in Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Graduated in Sociology by ISCTE (2001) and PhD by Lisbon University (ICS-UL, 2008) with a thesis in Social Sciences about public policy of water in Portugal, a historical perspective (1884-2007). He also attended, over three years, First Degree in Organization and Business Management (ISCTE), a postgraduate Social Science in ICS-UL (2002), and received the Gulbenkian Prize to Stimulate Research (2002).

  He is effective member of Committee MAB/ UNESCO Portugal since 2005, and in 2006 belonged of UNESCO’s team that elaborated the document “United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: contributions to its organization in Portugal”. Also gave his contribution in the establishment of the Portuguese Water Partnership (2009), an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Environment.