"Tropical forests are at a crossroads."
Bogor (ANTARA News) - The Bogor-based CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) has named Dr Peter Holmgren as its new director general.

CIFOR Outreach Manager Daniel Cooney said here Wednesday that the CIFOR board announced the selection after conducting an extensive international search.

Holmgren, a leading forestry, climate change and food security expert, will succeed Frances Seymour, who resigned as the CIFOR director general in November 2011, after leading the research center since 2006.

Holmgren will join CIFOR in September. He is currently the Director of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Holmgren, a native of forest-rich Sweden, received his doctorate in forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He joined FAO in 1998 to lead the Global Forest Resources Assessment, which documents the state of global forest resources, their management and uses. Between 2003 and 2007 he was head of forest resources development at FAO.

Since 2007 he has led the Climate, Energy and Tenure division at FAO, developing the profile and coordination of FAO`s climate change work and contributions of FAO to the UNFCCC process. He also took the lead in setting up the UN-REDD programme. Most recently, he has been coordinating FAO`s preparations for Rio+20.

Under his leadership at FAO, the concept of climate-smart agriculture emerged, ensuring that agricultural productivity, resilience and climate change mitigation are addressed together at all levels.

"Tropical forests are at a crossroads. Tremendous progress has been made in raising the profile of forests in REDD+ and sustainable development discussions. At the same time, many of the world`s forests are still under threat and the potential of forests to support sustainable development has not been fully realized," Holmgren said in a CIFOR press statement.

"Critical gaps between research and policy action must be closed to support governance related to forests, food, climate change and sustainable development. CIFOR, the CGIAR and partners in the global research community must play a key role," he said.

CIFOR advances human well being, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to provide information for policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. It also has offices in Asia, Africa and South America.
(Uu.A035/INE/KR-BSR/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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