PROFESSOR OF FOREST CONSERVATION AT UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Jeffrey Arthur Sayer is an expert in ecology and has worked throughout his career either as a researcher or program manager, mostly at the inter-face between research and practical natural resource management.

At present, he is Professor of Forest Conservation at University of British Columbia.

He has worked for FAO and IUCN and was a Senior Environmental Adviser at the World Bank. He was the CEO of Center for International Forestry Research from 1993 to 2001 and has also worked as Senior Associate and Science Advisor for WWF International from 2001 until present. He held the chair of International Nature Conservation at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

He was founding Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research in Indonesia and is now Senior Fellow of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Jeffrey is a member of the Science and Partnership Council of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research and has authored papers in peer reviewed journals and a number of books on natural resources topics. He has taught a Master’s program at the University of Utrecht and has been a frequent guest lecturer at universities in Holland, United Kingdom, United States of America and several other countries. Jeffrey has been an invited speaker at numerous scientific and conservation meetings in many countries and have given keynote addresses at a many international conferences and for the past few years he has given a major public addresses on forest or environment topics.

Putera has spent his entire professional career with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. He has held a number of positions during his career at the Ministry, including Director General of Watershed and Protected Forest (2018-2019), Acting Director General for Climate Change (April-July 2018), and Director General of Sustainable Management of Production Forests (2015-2018). Prior to that, he was Senior Adviser on Economic Affairs and International Trade to the Minister of Forestry (2012-2014). A large part of his career, spanning more than 35 years, was spent at the Ministry of Forestry’s Research and Development Agency (FORDA), from 1983 to 2012. He retired in 2019, and currently serves as the Executive Chair of the Indonesian Watershed Forum, an independent national forum advocating for sustainable management of watersheds. Putera obtained his Bachelors Degree in Forestry from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia in 1983 and earned his MS and PhD from Michigan State University, USA, in 1990 and 1995, respectively.

Erna Witoelar is a former Member of the General Assembly (MPR, 1997-1999) and Minister of Human Settlements and Regional Development of Indonesia (1999-2001). She also served as the UN Special Ambassador for the Millennium Development Goals in Asia-Pacific (2003-2007) and was a member of the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2006-2009).

She has more than thirty years of experience in civil society leadership at local, national, and international levels. She is one of the founders of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI, 1980), Friends of the Environment Fund (DML, 1983), Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI, 1994), Clean Ciliwung River Movement (GCB, 1994), Partnership for Governance Reform Indonesia (PGRI, 2000), Foundation for Local Governance Innovation (YIPD, 2002), and others.

She is also the former chair of the Indonesian Consumer Foundation and President of Consumers International (1991-1997).

At present, she sits in the Governing Board of KEHATI and member of the Oversight Committee of its Tropical Forest Conservation Action (TFCA) Sumatra program, chairs the Board of Trustee of YIPD, co-chairs the Filantropi Indonesia, among others.

She is a chemical engineer from the Bandung Institute of Technology since 1974, and has a master degree in Human Ecology from the University of Indonesia since 1993.

Neil joined the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) in January 2016. He has been active in tropical forestry for most of his career, including project management with FAO and UNDP in Bangladesh (1982-1984), the Nepal Australia Community Forestry Project (1986-1991) and was Assistant Director General of the Centre for International Forestry Research (1993-1998) based in Indonesia.

Since 1980, Neil consulted internationally in the design and evaluation of forestry projects, especially in social and community forestry. He was the Commissioner responsible for environment, agriculture and natural resource management issues in the Australian Productivity Commission from 1998 to 2010.

Neil is Adjunct Professor in Environmental Economics at the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. In 2014 – 2015 he chaired an independent review of Biodiversity Legislation in New South Wales which led to the drafting of a new Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Currently serves as non-executive Director of Alluvium Holdings Ltd, the Institute of Foresters of Australia as well as Earthwatch Institute Australia, he was also a non-executive Director of a FSC-certified plantation forestry company in New Zealand for 4 years.

Neil completed his Bachelor of Science in Forestry at Australian National University, Canberra and received his Masters of Economics and PhD at the University of British Colombia, Vancouver.

Rodney Taylor is a forest sector expert with senior multi-country experience in two international NGOs. He has expertise on corporate social responsibility, commodity certification, land-use, forestry and sustainable development.

Since October 2017, he leads the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Global Forest Program as Director, responsible to oversee the Program’s overall leadership, management, outreach and fundraising. Prior to this, he was Director of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Global Forest Programme from 2007 to 2016.

Rodney also holds a position in the High Conservation Value Resource (HCV) Network as Co-Chair since 2014 and a Steering Group Member at the Accountability Framework Initiative since 2017. He’s been a Co-Chair of the Forests Dialogue between 2009 – 2015 and Editor in Chief of Living Forest Report.

Rodney holds a Master degree in Environmental Law from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University. He was admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, in 1982. Five years later, in 1987, he was admitted as a lawyer of the National Court of Justice of Papua New Guinea.