James Mayers

James Mayers likes to get involved with issues of sustainable forestry, rural livelihoods and the governance of natural resources. He heads the Natural Resources research group at IIED and – with the group’s teams focused on land rights in investment, China in development, biodiversity, water infrastructure development, agroecology and forests – he has managed a range of multi-country initiatives such as: Policy that Works for Forests and People; Developing Markets for Watershed Services and Livelihoods; Forest Governance Learning Group; Water Ecosystem Services under Climate Change; Land Access in Sub-Saharan Africa; China-Africa Forest Governance Project; and Community Forestry in the Congo Basin. He has also been co-leader of The Forests Dialogue – an international programme that aims to encourage collaborative action on high-priority issues facing the world’s forests.