Bio

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management in the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia. I currently carry out collaborative research with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) in British Columbia and Guyana, and have worked in other South American countries. I am interested in new forms of enclosures, both de jure and de facto, often mediated by the power of the State and its allies, and their generally negative repercussions on IPLCs. Those enclosures are often not about the territory itself but about proprietary access to the timber, minerals, hydrocarbons, and the associated intangible products and services that are often incorporated into complex anastomosing supply chains. I also work on community forestry and independent third-party forest certification. I served as a member of the Policy and Standards Committee of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) from 2013-2020.  I am a member of the Governing Council of the Commonwealth Forestry Association and a member of the Advisory Board of the GREEN Institute, University of Guyana. I am also the Coordinator of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Working Party 9.03.07 on Indigenous Peoples and Forest Landscapes.

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