Task Force members

TF Resources for the Future: Transformation in Forest Use

Dr. David Brand, New Forests, Australia and USA. Dr. Brand is an expert on the development of innovative mechanisms to address competition over forest resources, including the development of the first Orangutan Conservation Banking arrangement. His company has over $2 billion dollars under management for forest ecosystem services. His role would be as an advisory member to the Task Force for the development of market based approach to forest ecosystem services.

Dr. David Cohen, Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Cohen is an expert on forest products marketing and firm transformation. His knowledge on forest transformation to meet the demands of firms and consumers will be crucial. Dr. Cohen will be the Sustainable Forest Products and Firm Transformation expert member to the Task Force.

Dr. Hosny El-Lakany, Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. El-Lakany will bring diverse experience and knowledge including his work on REDD+ and his extensive network, to the Task Force. Dr. El-Lakany will be an advisor to the Task Force.

Dr. Rob de Fegeley, President Institute of Foresters of Australia.  Dr. de Fegeley works as a forester in Australia and Oceania (including Papua New Guinea). His work experience and technical expertise, particularly relating to plantations, will provide useful insight to the Task Force, and how it frames tensions between plantations and intact forest landscapes. Dr. de Fegeley will the Plantations expert member on the Task Force.

Dr. Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Alterra and Wageningen University, Netherlands. Dr. Nabuurs is Deputy Coordinator of 4.02.07 - Large-scale forest inventory and scenario modelling. Dr. Nabuurs will provide insight to European forests. His work on fibre supply and climate change will bring an important perspective to the Task Force. Dr. Nabuurs will be an advisory member to the Task Force.

Dr. William Nikolakis, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Nikolakis is a legal practitioner*  in Australia and Canada. Dr. Nikolakis has advised firms, industry associations and government on industry transformation. Dr. Nikolakis is Deputy Coordinator of the Task Force. Dr. Nikolakis will coordinate Task Force activities and support the Coordinator in driving the Task Force's direction.

Dr. Ian de la Roche, Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. de la Roche will provide useful insight into government support and the involvement of research institutions in transformation. Dr. de la Roche brings a wealth of experience in operating a research institution, FP Innovations, as well experience with the policy/science interface. Dr. de la Roche will be an advisory member to the Task Force and can provide valuable input into ways in which research institutions can adopt the Task Force findings.

Dr. Sven Wunder, CIFOR, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Wunder has published extensively on market based approaches to forest environmental services, with particular focus on Latin America. These market based approaches can enable a sustainable transformation in forest use by compensating values that are diminished in favor of other competing values, particularly around the conflict between protection and livelihoods values. Dr. Wunder will be the Forest Ecosystem Services expert to the Task Force.

Dr. Lukas Giessen, Chair Group of Forest Policy, Faculty of Forest Sciences, University Goettingen, Germany and representative for IUFRO Division 9 and Unit 9.05. Dr. Giessen will be the Forest Governance advisor to the Task Force.

Dr. Anne-Helene Mathey, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Mathey is a Forest Economist and Forest Management Planning expert, currently working for the Canadian Government. Dr. Mathey has extensive experience on implementation of forest policy, particularly around forest industry transformation. Dr. Mathey will be the Forest Economics and Management Planning expert member on the Task Force.

Dr. Sonia Akter, Asst. Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Dr. Akter has published extensively on the design of institutions to encourage resilience and economic approaches to address vulnerability. Dr. Akter has considerable experience working with communities, with particular focus on the developing world, including her native homeland of Bangladesh. Dr. Akter will be the Local Communities and Resilience expert on the Task Force.

Dr. Jens Peter Skovsgaard, Coordinator, Division 1, IUFRO Forest Operations, Dr. Skovsgaard will provide valuable expertise on forest operations and silviculture to the Task Force.

Dr. Cori Ham, Professor Forest Policy and Economics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Dr. Ham is a Professor of Forest Policy and Economics with focus on Africa. Dr. Ham will provide insight into to the Task Force on African forestry.

Dr. Rene Reyes, Instituto Forestal de Chile, is a forest engineer and his research focus, including a PhD thesis, has been on forest resources and energy in Latin America. Reyes will bring important insight to Latin American forests to the Task Force.

Dr. Abdelhamid Khaldi, Senior Researcher, National Institute for Research in Rural Engineering, Water and Forests, Tunisia. Dr. Khaldi brings insight on water resources and forests in North Africa.

Dr. William Mala, is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Plant Biology, University of Yaoundé I. He brings important insight on social forestry and community development in Cameroon.

We will invite other experts as the project evolves. We will actively seek to include political scientists and political economists.


* By practitioner, we mean somebody who actually practises in a given profession, as opposed to doing research or policy making. We also use the terms 'decision maker' (for somebody who makes decisions, often within a statutory context) and 'policy maker' (for somebody that actually formulates policies, most of which may then become legally binding).


Send comments to John Innes (Task Force Coordinator)