Art Hanson is a Distinguished Fellow with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and earlier served as IISD’s President and CEO. He conducts research, and provides advisory services on innovation for sustainable development, environment and economy relationships, biodiversity, oceans, and international development. He is a Member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, CCICED International Chief Advisor (2002-2019). He was Professor and Director of the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University in Canada. He initiated a number of major environment and development activities in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s. He is a Board member of KEHATI (Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation), the Advisory Council of the Eco-Forum Global and Co-chairs the Scientific Advisory Group of the UNEP-China Academy of Science IEMP.

His interest is linking science to public policy, and has worked with many government bodies and international agencies in Canada, the United States and in six countries of Asia on natural resources and environmental management, and on mechanisms of accountability and governance for sustainable development. Dr. Hanson served on Canada’s National Round Table on the Environment and Economy (NRTEE), was Canada’s Ministerial Ocean Ambassador with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, a member of the Canada Foundation for Innovation for a decade, and as a Mentor in the Trudeau Foundation. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a Friend of China.