• PL 27 (Latokartanonkaari 7)

    00014

    Finland

  • Viikinkaari 1, Biokeskus 3

    00790 Helsinki

    Finland

1977 …2024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Curriculum vitae

Dr. Markku Kanninen is Research Director and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Forest Sciences of the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is an expert in tropical forestry, climate change, forest ecology, and forest management. He has published over 350 publications, including over 100 internationally peer-reviewed scientific articles.

He has been involved in tropical forest research for about 40 years. Prior to his current position, he was Director of Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI) (2010-2020); Director of the Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests Program of CIFOR (2003-2010); Deputy Director General of CATIE (Costa Rica) (1996-2003); and earlier the Director of The Finnish Research Program on Climate Change (1990-1995).

He has been involved in science policy dialogue on forests and climate change for more than 30 years, and he has been actively involved in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1990. He was a Lead Author of the recent IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees. From 2011 to 2019, he was member of the Finnish Climate Panel.

Since 2004, he has been a member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters. He contributed to the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

External positions

Seconded Principal Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research

1 Sept 201631 Aug 2017

Seconded Principal Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research

1 Sept 201531 Aug 2016

Director, Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests Program, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

1 Mar 200331 Dec 2010

Deputy Director General and Research Director, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE)

1 Jan 199628 Feb 2003

Project manager, The Finnish Research Program on Climate Change (SILMU), Academy of Finland

1 Mar 199031 Dec 1995

Fields of Science

  • 4112 Forestry
  • Tropical Forests
  • Natural resources
  • 1172 Environmental sciences
  • Climate change
  • Development
  • Environmental Policy
  • Sustainability science

International and National Collaboration

Publications and projects within past five years.