Risto Ihamuotila (Finland)
Risto Ihamuotila is the Rector (President) of the University of Helsinki, the largest university in Finland. Before his present position, he was Professor of Agricultural Policy, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, and Vice Rector of the University of Helsinki.
Dr. Ihamuotila has been Chairman of the State Research Council of Agriculture and Forestry, the State Council of Higher Education and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. He also is a board member of several private companies and an active pactitioner of farm forestry.
Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell is Under Secretary General, United Nations Offices at Nairobi and Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme.
Before joining the UN, Ms. Dowdeswell was Assistant Deputy Minister at Environment Canada and head of the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service.
Ms. Dowdeswell has been Canada's principal delegate to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Canada's Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organization, twice elected to its Executive Council.
Andrew Bennett is the Chief Natural Resources' Adviser at the Overseas Development Administration in the United Kingdom with an oversight of the agricultural, forestry, fisheries and aquatic resources, land-use and environmental aspects of the British Aid Programme. He has been heavily involved in many of the recent global initiatives concerning environment and development.
Trained in tropical agriculture Mr. Bennett worked as an agronomist in the West Indies, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Sudan before moving into aid policy and administration. He served in the British Development Divisions in Thailand and Fiji before taking up his present position.
Ross S. Whaley (USA)
Ross S. Whaley is the President of the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He is professionally interested in the political economy of forest resource use and conservation. He has been Dean, Head of Department and Professor in the forestry schools of several US universities.
Dr. Whaley has been Director of Forest Resource Economics Research for the U.S. Forest Service, President of the Society of American Foresters, and Chairman of the Board of the Pinchot Institute of Conservation Studies.
Gurmit Singh K.S. (Malaysia)
Gurmit Singh K.S. is the Executive Director of the Centre for Environment, Technology & Development in Malaysia. He is the Founder President and an Advisor to the Environmental Protection Society. He also is a member of many national and international societies and committees.
Mr Singh K.S. is a well-known environmentalist and social activist. He has organised and managed national and international courses, workshops and studies on environmental issues. In 1993, he received the Malaysian Government's Langkawi Award.