After a global search involving more than 80 candidates from 36 countries, CIFOR’s Board of Trustees has appointed Ms Frances Seymour as CIFOR’s new Director General. She will replace David Kaimowitz who is stepping down after five years leading CIFOR.
Ms Seymour’s distinguished career includes executive and influential positions with some of the world’s leading development, agricultural and environmental agencies.
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Angela Cropper, Chair of CIFOR’s Board of Trustees, described the appointment as an excellent match for CIFOR and its current challenges. ‘Frances Seymour’s skills and experience make her admirably suited to the task of leading CIFOR at a time of change. The world’s forests are under pressure but are expected to play a major role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the challenges set out in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’. |
She is the founding Director of the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) highly regarded Institutions and Governance Programme. Through this, her most recent position, Ms Seymour has been closely involved with The Access Initiative, a global collaboration aimed at promoting respect for environmental procedural rights. The Access Initiative currently hosts Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10), an international arrangement where signatory nations guarantee every citizen access to information about and participation in environmentally sustainable policy-making.
Indonesia, the location of CIFOR’s Headquarters where Ms Seymour will be based, was the first nation in Southeast Asia to join PP10. Ms Seymour was quick to acknowledge the importance of Indonesia’s pledge. In an April 2006 Jakarta Post article Ms Seymour described Indonesia’s commitment as setting an example for the rest of the world. ‘This is an important step toward keeping Indonesia’s government transparent, inclusive and accountable,’ Ms Seymour said.
During her time with WRI, Ms Seymour also co-authored several WRI publications on sustainable development which critically examined US Govern¬ment actions regarding the flow of money between developed and developing nations. Ms Seymour has written or contributed to many publications dealing with forestry, environmental and development issues in Asia, Africa and Latin America. She is highly regarded for her skill in communicating research to policy makers and practitioners.
Prior to WRI, Ms Seymour served as Director of Development Assistance Policy at the World Wildlife Fund, where she spearheaded efforts to improve the policies and practices of major development institutions.
Her links to the rainforests of Southeast Asia date back to the early 1980s when she worked on USAID-funded agroforestry projects in the Philippines. Ms Seymour is particularly familiar with the forests of Indonesia, having managed a large portfolio of Ford Foundation grants supporting social forestry and land rights in Indonesia. She also speaks fluent Bahasa Indonesia.
Ms Seymour, who will start working with CIFOR in August 2006, has a distinguished record of involvement with a range of international committees and boards. Just a few of these include the Centre for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge in China, the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, Human Rights Watch Asia, the National Advisory Committee on Environmental Policy and Technology, and the Council on Foreign Relations. GC, AF
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Commenting on her appointment, Ms Seymour said she was excited by the prospect of leading one of the world’s most highly regarded forestry research institutes. ‘CIFOR’s talented staff, committed Board, and impressive network of partners combine to provide an extraordinary opportunity to influence how forests are managed for people around the world. I am deeply honoured by this appointment, and am eager to contribute my energies toward realising CIFOR’s important mission.’ Speaking to Science Magazine, Ms Seymour said ‘(CIFOR) is at that sweet spot between academic research and pure advocacy.’ |
Addendum (October 3rd, 2007)
Frances Seymour is the Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) with headquarters in Bogor, Indonesia. Prior to CIFOR, Ms. Seymour founded and directed the Institutions and Governance Program at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC. At WRI, she guided the launch of The Access Initiative, a global civil society coalition promoting citizen involvement in environment-related decisions. She also authored and contributed to WRI publications critically examining the role of public and private international financial institutions in promoting sustainable development. She previously served as Director of Development Assistance Policy at World Wildlife Fund, and spent five years in Indonesia with the Ford Foundation, where her grant-making focused on community forestry and human rights. She has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including those of World Neighbors, the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, and the African Centre for Technology Studies. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a masters degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a B.S. in Zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.