José Lima Santos holds a degree in Agronomy, specializing in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, from Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), and a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
He is a Full Professor at ISA, where he has taught since 1987. He has coordinated and taught numerous curricular units in Economic and Social Sciences applied to Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Areas. He served as Director-General of the Planning Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, a member of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS), and a member of the General Council of the University of Lisbon. He has conducted several studies evaluating public policies in the field of agriculture and environment. His research, framed within the Center for Forestry Studies of ISA and the TERRA Associated Laboratory, is currently focused on the relationships between agricultural and forestry production systems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services in both developed and developing countries.