Professor Rhett Harrison

I have over 25 years research experience in the study of tropical landscapes. I began my career studying the ecology of insect-plant interactions in Bornean tropical rain forests and transitioned to research on more applied environmental issues in multi-use landscapes about 20 years ago. In 2013, I joined World Agroforestry (ICRAF) working first in Kunming, China and moving to Lusaka, Zambia in 2016. ICRAF and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) have recently merged and are now known as CIFOR-ICRAF.

Four main themes dominate my work: (1) forest landscape restoration, (2) the role of biodiversity in the provisioning of ecosystem services, (3) agroforestry and the restoration of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes and tree monocultures, such as rubber, and (4) bushmeat hunting and wildlife conservation. 

Currently, I am working on various projects in Zambia including the Zambia-4-agroforestry, biodiversity and climate (Z4ABC) programme funded by the EU, which is looking at sustainable value chains for promoting forest conservation and resilience, a review of the impact of community forest management nationally (supported by GIZ) and working with the forest department to implement a large-scale ForestGeo plot (with funding from a NERC network grant with David Edwards). With partners, I also advise the government on agroecology and pest management. Outside Zambia, I am working in Yangambi, DRC to implement a research programme to support community development. Yangambi used to be the largest tropical research station in the world during the colonial period, with a number of firsts including the domestication of Rubusta coffee and widely used Palm Oil varieties. CIFOR-ICRAF has funding from the EU for development in the Yangambi landscape with the aim of reducing forest loss. Last, I am working in Managalas, a Community Conservation Area in PNG, to develop conservation management plans and sustainable income streams.