Professor Paul Sillitoe FBA

Paul Sillitoe is a professor in Durham University's Anthropology Department. His research interests focus on human-environment relations, notably local natural resource management strategies and farming systems, having a background in both anthropology and agricultural science. A champion of indigenous knowledge in development and its incorporation into projects, particularly in the context of sustainable livelihood initiatives and appropriate technologies, he specialises in social change, livelihoods and technology, environment and conservation, biocultural diversity and land issues, human ecology and ethno-science, and has experience of working with several international development agencies. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in the S.W. Pacific region, notably in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, where he has sought to locate and understand the 'economy', and is involved in projects in South Asia researching local environmental knowledge and development programmes, and recently worked in the Gulf region on sustainable development initiatives and conservation issues.