Cora van Oosten

Cora van Oosten currently serves as Head of Capacity Development & Education at CIFOR-ICRAF, following her role as senior project manager at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation from 2008 to 2023. As a Human Geographer with over 30 years of international experience, she has established herself as a leading expert in landscape approaches, governance, and natural resource management. Her career spans leadership positions across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, including significant work in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Bolivia, and Cambodia. At Wageningen, she developed innovative approaches to landscape governance and restoration, particularly focusing on the intersection of local and global interests in landscape management. She leads the Global Landscapes Forum's Landscape Academy, a multi-partner initiative promoting Restoration Education for All. Her work emphasizes the importance of governance in successful landscape restoration, addressing critical questions about stakeholder engagement and decision-making processes. Through her research and practical experience, she has demonstrated how landscape approaches can effectively combine food security needs with nature conservation and economic development, particularly in regions facing climate change challenges. Her current role at CIFOR-ICRAF focuses on strengthening science-in-practice approaches and developing systemic capacity development programs across multiple geographies.