Sander is senior researcher for INBO (Institute for Nature and Forest), research group Nature & Society, and coordinates the research program on Urban Nature. An ecologist by training and ecological economist by profession, he teaches a course on human and political ecology at Ghent University. Before, he worked for 10 years as science-policy officer at the Belgian Biodiversity Platform to coordinate the Belgian ecosystem service community, and was coordinating, lead and contributing author and Belgian delegate for several IPBES assessments (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services). He was also co-chair of the steering committee of the global Ecosystem Service Partnership for 10 years, and is topic editor for several scientific journals.