Dr. Peter Holmgren, Director General for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) since 2012, has a PhD in Forestry from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences with a thesis titled “Geographic Information for Forestry Planning”. His academic work has spanned multiple-objective forestry, forest monitoring and assessment, as well as forest soil sciences. From his early career he has experience from working with the forest industry, remote sensing agencies and international development. In 1998, Peter joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to lead the Global Forest Resources Assessment.
Between 2003 and 2007 he was head of forest resources development at FAO, and from 2007 until 2012 Director of the Climate, Energy and Tenure division, including responsibility for the overall profile and coordination of FAO’s work related to climate change. At FAO, Peter coordinated the support and contributions of FAO to the UNFCCC process. He was part of the interagency team that set up the UN-REDD programme as a unique One-UN partnership. He also led the development of “Climate-smart Agriculture” and coordinated FAO’s preparations for Rio+20.
At CIFOR, he has led the charge to work across sector boundaries and promote a landscape perspective to agriculture, forestry, conservation and development. He has also initiated the Evidence-based forestry programme which builds on experiences in medical and social sciences for ensuring that decision-making build on existing and relevant evidence. His current mission is to improve the understanding of the wide range of contributions that forestry makes to sustainable development.
