Tony Simons

Tony Simons has worked for 27 years on issues at the tropical agriculture/forestry interface in more than 40 developing countries. His work has spanned the private sector (Shell Forestry), academia (University of Oxford), official development assistance (FCDO) and research (CGIAR). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University, NZ, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Cambridge University, UK. 

In 2009, Tony was made an Honorary Professor in Tropical Forestry at the University of Copenhagen. He is a board member of the African Centre for Technology Studies, the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa programme, the Danone Livelihood Fund and DCM International Imaging. He also leads the IUFRO Forest and Water Task Force. He has published over 100 research papers and has sat on several journal editorial boards. 

Tony’s interests encompass: tree germplasm; agroforestry systems; tree product marketing and extension; land health; climate change; environmental services and policies; and tropical forest margins. He is passionate about the transformative and profitable change that the private sector can bring to development.