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New PAC members join Explore

The Explore programme has selected eight new members to join its Programme Advisory Committee (PAC), which plays a pivotal role in guiding the strategic direction of the programme.

Among them are six independent members:  

  • Academia/Cambodia: Dr Phanith Chou, Associate Professor at Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Academia/Singapore: Dr Radhika Bhargava, Project Manager and Research Fellow, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore  
  • Civil society/the Philippines: Dr Doris Capistrano, Chair of the Board of Trustees of CIFOR-ICRAF  
  • Government/Indonesia: Dr Bambang Supriyanto, Director General of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership,  Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia  
  • Independent consultant/Thailand: Ms Patti Moore JD, Independent consultant in environmental law and legislation, Thailand  
  • Private sector/New Zealand: Mr Branislav Zoric, Director at Forest Modus Consulting

The six independent committee members underwent a stringent head hunting, nomination and selection process, which was preceded by an open call for nominations, and a thorough deliberation amongst current PAC members led by the PAC chair.  

Explore research teams also voted to elect two new representatives to represent them at the PAC:  

  • Dr Muhammad Alif Sahide, Full Professor, Forestry Faculty of Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
  • Dr Le Thanh An, Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Development Studies, University of Economics, Hue University, Viet Nam

The eight new PAC members join the PAC chair (elected in November 2023) and representatives from RECOFTC, CIFOR-ICRAF and the Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP), to serve a two-year term.  

PAC chair

  • Indonesia: Dr Siti Kusujiarti, Professor of Sociology and Department Chair, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC, USA

Implementing organization’s representatives

  • CIFOR-ICRAF: Dr Robert Nasi, Chief Operating Officer, CIFOR-ICRAF
  • RECOFTC: Dr Chandra Silori, Deputy Executive Director, RECOFTC

FFP representative

  • (TBC), Forest Foundation Philippines, the Philippines

The PAC helps ensure that the programme’s activities align with national and regional priorities in forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia. They convene quarterly to review and approve Explore’s progress, strategic plans, and annual report and workplan. They approve Explore’s major programmes, themes, grant sizes and capacity-building initiatives.  

“We’re excited about the fresh perspectives and leadership the new members bring,” says Explore’s programme manager, Hao Zhuang. “We look forward to their contributions in shaping the future of forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia.”  

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About Explore

Explore is a research network and community of practice dedicated to expanding and applying knowledge on forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia. The network is funded by the government of Sweden. It is hosted by RECOFTC, in partnership with the CIFOR-ICRAF, in collaboration with universities, research institutes, governments, civil society organizations, local communities and the private sector in Southeast Asia.

For more information about Explore, contact explore.secretariat@recoftc.org. 

To become a member of Explore, visit recoftc.com/projects/explore/about-explore.

RECOFTC’s work is made possible with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Government of Sweden.