Dr Jonathan Hutton, a global leader in conservation with a strong academic track record in ecology, natural resource management and rural development, has been appointed the new Director of the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
Dr Hutton comes to us from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) where, as Director since 2005, he has built a distinguished reputation for UNEP’s biodiversity assessment arm.
As a partner of WWF, the Institute brings science to action and catalyses new ideas to solve environmental challenges requiring scientific expertise. Dr Hutton will lead the Institute in addressing some of the planet’s most difficult environmental challenges. His experience is ideally suited to take on the challenge of bringing world-class scientists together with conservation practitioners, public and private sector managers, and policymakers.
Dr Hutton is an ecologist bringing 25 years of experience in nature conservation and rural development issues in Africa. His experience includes a major body of work in southern Africa where he took on a range of leadership positions directly linked to nature, natural resources and rural development in government, NGOs and the private sector.
Dr Hutton holds a BA from the University of Cambridge in Natural Sciences and a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Zimbabwe. Over his career, he has produced more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters as well as dozens of reports and conference proceedings on a variety of academic topics. His strong academic interests have also brought him to be elected as a Member of Hughes Hall College, Cambridge in 2005 and Honorary Professor of Sustainable Resource Management at the University of Kent in 2007.
WWF International and the MAVA Foundation established the Luc Hoffmann Institute in 2012 to address some of the planet’s most difficult environmental challenges and to honour Dr Luc Hoffmann, one of the visionary founders of WWF.