Dr Marcus COLCHESTER

Senior Policy Advisor, Forest Peoples Programme

Marcus Colchester is English and received his doctorate in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. He was Founder Director of the Forest Peoples Programme and now acts as Senior Policy Advisor. Marcus has over 35 years’ experience working with forest peoples in the humid tropics and Siberia. His expertise is in indigenous peoples, social and political ecology, standard setting, human rights, environment, development, land tenure, policy reform advocacy, ‘Free, Prior and Informed Consent’ and conflict resolution. Marcus has worked intensively in support of forest peoples’ rights in relation to logging, plantations, palm oil, extractive industries, dams, colonisation and protected areas. He is a member of CEESP and of the IUCN Task Force on Oil Crops and Biodiversity. He has published widely in academic journals and NGO publications and has authored, edited and contributed to many books.