prof.dr. RD (Douglas) Sheil

I am an ecologist, forester and conservationist. I have broad multidisciplinary interests focused on forests, their biota and the people who depend on them. Most of my research has focused on the tropics. I joined WUR in January 2021.

I was born in Northern Ireland and raised in the Republic of Ireland. I trained in Natural Sciences (MA, Cambridge) and Forestry (MSc, Oxford) in the UK. After two years in East Africa (IUCN, based in Nairobi, Kenya), I conducted my doctoral "DPhil." research on long-term forest change in Uganda, while employed by the University of Oxford. My postdoctoral experience includes ten years in Indonesia with the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR, 1998-2008) and four years as director of the Institute for Tropical Forest Conservation in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda  (2008-2012). I also spent a year in Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia (2012-2013). Before joining WUR I was a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, Norway (2013-2020). I remain a Senior Associate with CIFOR, in Indonesia.

I have authored or coauthored over 200 scientific publications, including a widely used book on rain forests  (Ghazoul & Sheil Tropical Rain Forests: Ecology Diversity and Conservation. Oxford University Press, 2010). I received the Biotropica Prize for the best research paper 2004 from the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. I also received the Queen’s Award for Forestry in 2015.

• IUCN (1-1-2021/1-1-2028)
  Non commercial. It is one of many IUCN groups that look to use science to guide conservation policy and practice. They do not pay time but may cover some expenses for meetings and related logistics.