Challenges for Sustainable Development in Brazilian Amazonia

Prof. Philip M. Fearnside

National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA)

Philip M. Fearnside is a Research Professor in the Department of Environmental Dynamics at the National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA) in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. He is a permanent resident in Brazil where he has lived in Amazonia for 39 years doing ecological research. In addition to Latin America, he has field experience and publications include India, Indonesia, China. He completed his Ph.D. in 1978 in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Michigan, USA. Since 1985, his work has been organized around the objective of converting the environmental services of Amazonian forests into a basis for sustainable development for the rural population of the region, taking the place of the current pattern of forest destruction. Honors include Brazil's National Ecology Prize, the UN Global 500 award, the Conrad Wessel prize, the Chico Mendes prize, the Scopus prize (from Elsevier & CAPES) and membership in the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. In 2006, he was identified by Thompson-ISI as the world’s second most-cited scientist on the subject of global warming. In 2011, he was identified as the world’s 7th most-cited scientist in the area of sustainable development. His papers are available through http://philip.inpa.gov.br.