Peter Holmgren

Director General, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

Appointed in 2012, Dr. Peter Holmgren is the Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), where he leads a team of more than 200 scientists and staff operating together with partner institutions inover 40 countries. Under his leadership, CIFOR updated its strategy in 2016, emphasizing the role of forestry in achieving each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Holmgren has a PhD in Forestry and 26 years of experience in international forestry and agriculture. Prior to CIFOR, Dr. Holmgren worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where he led FAO’s work on climate change and its contributions to the UNFCCC process. While at FAO he also coordinated the Global Forest Resources Assessment, played a leading role in establishing the UN-REDD program and led the development of the Climate Smart Agriculture concept. Dr. Holmgren is credited for leading the dialogue to enhance and broaden the role of forestry in the Global Development Agenda to address the major challenges of our time: poverty, food security, climate change and green economy. An early champion of the landscape approach, Dr. Holmgren launched the Global Landscapes Forum, which is today the world’s largest conference on integrated land use.