The use of natural resources has more than tripled since 1970, and continues to grow.
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Meet the panel members
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Janez Potočnik
Slovenia
Janez Potočnik
Slovenia
Janez Potočnik is co-chair of the IRP. He has held many important positions and has extensive experience in the realm of environment, economics and European Affairs. In September 2013 he received the United Nation's Champions of the Earth Award.
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Jeffrey Herrick
United States of America
Jeffrey Herrick
United States of America
Jeff Herrick works at the US Department of Agriculture and has adjunct appointments at New Mexico State University and the University of Colorado. He is expert in resistance and resilience in arid and semi-arid ecosystems and in land management.
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Porfirio Alvarez-Torres
Mexico
Porfirio Alvarez-Torres
Mexico
Porfirio Álvarez-Torres is a fisheries scientist expert in aquaculture, aquatic invasive species, living marine resources, fisheries science, marine policy, ocean observing systems and ecosystem-based management of marine ecosystems.
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Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
Izabella Teixeira
Brazil
Izabella Teixeira is a expert in environmental management, impact assessment and licensing. As Environment Minister, she led Brazil’s negotiations of the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015. She was named a Champion of the Earth in 2013.
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Mark Swilling
South Africa
Mark Swilling
South Africa
Mark Swilling is Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch University. He has vast experience in policy analysis, has published widely, and has coordinated large projects. He holds the Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer award.
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Bing Zhu
China
Bing Zhu
China
Bing Zhu is Professor and Director of Institute for Circular Economy at Tsinghua University. He is an expert in circular economy assessment, techno-economic analysis and industrial park green development.
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Edgar Hertwich
Austria
Edgar Hertwich
Austria
Edgar Hertwich lectures and researches life-cycle assessment, sustainable production and consumption, trade and environment, and risk analysis. He has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has led multiple IRP reports.
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Stefanie Hellweg
Germany
Stefanie Hellweg
Germany
Stefanie Hellweg is professor of ecological systems design at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, where she is working on modelling, evaluating and improving the environmental impact of products, technologies and consumption patterns.
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Elias T. Ayuk
Cameroon
Elias T. Ayuk
Cameroon
Elias Ayuk is the Director of the UN University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. He has published widely on the social, economic and policy dimensions of natural resource management, on poverty analysis and institutional capacity building.
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Stephen Fletcher
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Stephen Fletcher
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Stephen Fletcher is a marine scientist with extensive experience in coastal and marine science policy. He currently heads the Marine Programme of UN Environment’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and has published over 85 peer-reviewed papers.
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Nabil Z. Nasr
United States of America
Nabil Z. Nasr
United States of America
Nabil Nasr is Director of Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology. His fields of expertise are sustainable production, remanufacturing, cleaner production, and sustainable product development.
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Heinz Schandl
Austria
Heinz Schandl
Austria
Heinz Schandl is senior principal scientist at Australia’s CSIRO, where his research includes measuring and modelling sustainability to explore the links between public policy and social theory and metabolism as a path to SCP and green economy.
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Antonio M.A. Pedro
Mozambique
Antonio M.A. Pedro
Mozambique
Antonio M.A Pedro is a geologist expert on mineral extraction and sustainable development. He spearheaded the work of the International Study Group on Africa’s Mineral Regimes and the Africa Mining Vision, adopted by the African Union in 2009.
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Helga Weisz
Germany
Helga Weisz
Germany
Helga Weisz is an industrial ecologist. She is Full Professor of Industrial Ecology and Climate Change at Humboldt University Berlin and Affiliated Professor at the Institute of Social Ecology of Alpen-Adria University in Vienna
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Marina Fischer-Kowalski
Austria
Marina Fischer-Kowalski
Austria
Marina Fisher-Kowalski is Professor and former Director of the Institute for Social Ecology in Vienna, vice-president of the European Society of Ecological Economics, and president and founder of the International Society for Industrial Ecology.
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Serge Salat
France
Serge Salat
France
Serge Salat is an architect, urban planner and expert in spatial planning, urban energy planning, urban policy and finance. He advises international organizations, development banks, governments and has published extensively in the field.
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Saleem Ali
Australia, Pakistan, United States of America
Saleem Ali
Australia, Pakistan, United States of America
Saleem Ali's research interests are in the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts in the mineral sector. He teaches environmental planning. conflict resolution and industrial ecology, and is a member of the Governance Working Group.
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S. Vijay Kumar
India
S. Vijay Kumar
India
S. Vijay Kumar has directed India’s National Wastelands Development Programme and the National Rural Roads Development Agency. He was also Permanent Secretary of the Ministries of Rural Development and Mines. He is now Distinguished Fellow at TERI.
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A. Erinç Yeldan
Turkey
A. Erinç Yeldan
Turkey
Erinç Yeldan is Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University. His recent work focuses on development macroeconomics and economics of climate change, with emphasis on the Turkish economy.
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Stephen Hatfield-Dodds
Australia
Stephen Hatfield-Dodds
Australia
Stephen Hatfield-Dodds is the Executive Director of ABARES, and was the lead author of Australian National Outlook report (2015). He has worked for more than two decades across sustainability research, public policy, and business strategy.
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Stefan Bringezu
Germany
Stefan Bringezu
Germany
Stefan Bringezu is Director at the Centre of Environmental Systems Research at Kassel University. He is pioneer of material flow analysis and a founding member of the International Society for Industrial Ecology.
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Anuradha Ramaswami
United States of America
Anuradha Ramaswami
United States of America
Anu Ramaswami is an expert on urban infrastructure whose work has formed the basis for sustainable cities in the US and internationally. Her research includes integrating science and technology with policy and planning for real-world implementation.
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Anders Wijkman
Sweden
Anders Wijkman
Sweden
Anders Wijkman is co-president of the Club of Rome, chairman of the Swedish Association of Recycling Industries, senior advisor to the Stockholm Environment Institute. He is co-author of Bankrupting Nature (2012).
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Ester van der Voet
Netherlands
Ester van der Voet
Netherlands
Trained as a biologist, Ester van der Voet has vast experience as a lecturer, researcher and editor in the field of Industrial Ecology. Among other posts, she is senior researcher in many EU-projects and has contributed to multiple IRP reports.
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Yonglong Lu
China
Yonglong Lu
China
Yonglong Lu is Chair and Research Professor at the Regional Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Management Group at Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published 150 papers and 15 books.
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Tanya Abrahamse
South Africa
Tanya Abrahamse
South Africa
Tanya Abrahamse is Chief Executive Officer of the South African Biodiversity Institute. She has wide management and leadership experience in environmental and developmental policies and processes, and holds the 2005 African Tourism Achiever Award.
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Gete Zeleke
Ethiopia
Gete Zeleke
Ethiopia
Gete Zeleke is a global leader in natural resource management and rural development and adjunct professor at Addis Ababa University. He is expert in soil erosion modelling, hydrology, soil and water management, and land evaluation.
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Paul Ekins
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Paul Ekins
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Paul Ekins is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Resources, and Director of Research at the School of Sustainable Resources and Energy at University College London. He has a PHD in economics.
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Maarten Hajer
Netherlands
Maarten Hajer
Netherlands
Maarten Hajer is distinguished professor of Urban Futures at Utrecht University, and a former Director-General of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. He has published widely on environmental politics and urban planning.
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Anthony Chiu
Philippines
Anthony Chiu
Philippines
Anthony Chiu is an expert in sustainable development, specializing in industrial engineering, cleaner production, sustainable consumption, eco-industrial development, and emergency response systems in industry.
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Patrice Christmann
France
Patrice Christmann
France
Patrice Christmann is Deputy-Director of the Corporate Strategy Division of the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières. His expertise includes mineral raw materials economics, sustainable governance, and sustainable natural resource management.
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Ashok Khosla
India
Ashok Khosla
India
Ashok Khosla has served on the boards of numerous global environmental organizations, including the Club of Rome, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the World Conservation Union. He is a former co-chair of the IRP.
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Keisuke Nansai
Japan
Keisuke Nansai
Japan
Keisuke Nansai is Head of the International Material Cycles Section, Centre for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan. His expertise includes environmental input-output analysis.
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Michael Obersteiner
Austria
Michael Obersteiner
Austria
Michael Obersteiner is Director of the Ecosystems Services and Management Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. He has worked for national and international organizations, writing over 100 scientific papers.
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Seiji Hashimoto
Japan
Seiji Hashimoto
Japan
Seiji Hasjimoto’s research interests include assessment methodologies and system design for sustainable resource and waste management, from extraction of resources to disposal. He is a Professor at Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
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Hans Bruyninckx
Belgium
Hans Bruyninckx
Belgium
Hans Bruyninckx is the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency. He is expert in European and international environmental policy, the effects of globalization on the governance of environmental issues and sustainable development.
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Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Lifset
United States of America
Reid Liset is a Research Scholar and Resident Fellow in Industrial Ecology at Yale University, Associate Director of the Industrial Environmental Management Program, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
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Bruno M.C Oberle
Switzerland
Bruno M.C Oberle
Switzerland
Bruno Oberle is Professor of Green Economy and Resource Governance at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He was Secretary of State for Environment, helping to set up the Global Environmental Facility and the Green Climate Fund.
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Eeva Primmer
Finland
Eeva Primmer
Finland
Eeva Primmer is research director and professor in environmental policy at the Finnish Environment Institute. Her research interest is in the governance of nature, ecosystem services and natural resources.
Save the date
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02June2019
Helsinki
FinlandConferenceWorld Circular Economy Forum 2019
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05November2019
Bled
SloveniaMeeting25th meeting of the International Resource Panel
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22October2018
Yokohama
JapanConferenceWorld Circular Economy Forum 2018
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04June2018
Shenzhen
China22nd meeting of the International Resource Panel
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03December2017
Nairobi
KenyaPanel discussionScience-Policy-Business Forum: IRP special session
News
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Resource Revolution trainer begins here
27 May 2019Want to learn more about the global resource challenge and how it might impact on your business? Then sign up for the Resource Revolution Trainer, a self-paced online self-training tool for company managers responsible for areas such as...
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How to better manage minerals' discussed at Summit
21 May 2019Panel member Stefan Bringezu represented the International Resource Panel at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Berlin. The summit brings together experts from around the world to discuss innovation and new technologies in the...
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Webinar to examine latest findings on resource use
16 May 2019There is growing awareness about the challenges posed by increasing levels of natural resource use. The International Resource Panel and its strategic partner, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are two organizations...
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G7 praises International Resource Panel work on resource efficiency
07 May 2019Environment ministers of the G7 countries, meeting in Metz, France, yesterday strongly encouraged the International Resource Panel to continue its work to strengthen knowledge of resource efficiency to help decision-makers conceive and manage...
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New ‘hotspots’ tool pinpoints unsustainable consumption and production
13 March 2019The International Resource Panel and a number of partners have developed a new online tool that that allows countries to see “hotspots” of unsustainable practices in consumption and production. The tool was launched at the fourth session of the...
Learn more about us
Our work
IRP investigates the world’s most critical resource issues with a view to developing practical solutions for government policymakers, industry and society.
The Panel’s goal is to steer us away from overconsumption, waste and ecological harm to a more prosperous and sustainable future.
Who we are
The International Resource Panel was launched by UN Environment in 2007 to build and share the knowledge needed to improve our use of resources worldwide.
The Panel consists of eminent scientists, highly skilled in resource management issues from both developed and developing regions, civil society, industrial and international organisations. Their reports distil the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic findings around global resource use.