William Laurance
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William F. Laurance (born 12 October 1957), also known as Bill Laurance, is Distinguished Research Professor at James Cook University, Australia and has been elected as a Fellow of the
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...
. He has received an Australian Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. He held the Prince Bernhard Chair for International Nature Conservation at
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
from 2010 to 2014.


Early life

William F.
Laurance Laurance is a surname or given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * John Laurance (1750–1810), American lawyer and politician from New York * William F. Laurance (born 1957), American-Australian biology professor * Bill Laurance ...
grew up in the western US, in
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
and
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
. He initially aspired to direct his own zoo, but later turned to ecology and conservation biology. Since he was interested in nature conservation, he decided in the early 1980s to study imperiled
tropical forests Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...
for his PhD. During this time, he also became involved in some heated conservation issues in Australia and elsewhere.


Professional career

Laurance has published eight books and over 700 scientific and popular articles. These include two edited volumes, as well as analyses of conservation-policy challenges in the Brazilian Amazon, Gabon, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea. He has also synthesized changing trends, new initiatives,REDD Redd is a Turkish rock band established in 1996 by tenor opera singer Doğan Duru and guitarist Berke Hatipoğlu under the name ''Ten''. They used to play at bars until they set up their own studio in 2004. Their first album, titled ''"50/50" ...
than dead. BioScience 58:677."> and major debates in tropical conservation science and policy. He is among the most highly cited scientists globally in the fields of
ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
and environmental science. His works have been cited more than 83,000 times, and his Hirsch's h index of 145 (as per December 2021) is the highest of any environmental scientist or ecologist in Australia and ranked number 6 globally. He has published more than three dozen papers to date in ''Science'' and ''Nature''. He has conducted long-term research across the world's
tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...
, from the Amazon Basin to the Asia-Pacific region and Congo Basin. In his long-term studies of habitat fragmentation in the Amazon Basin, he introduced concepts, including "biomass collapse", the "hyperdynamism hypothesis", the "landscape-divergence hypothesis", the large spatial scale of some edge effects, the key role of matrix tolerance in determining species' responses to fragmentation, and the importance of synergisms between fragmentation and other environmental insults.extinctions of tropical species. Conservation Biology 23:1427-1437."> His scientific interests include assessing the impacts of
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
, logging,
hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
,
wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
, road expansion, and
climatic change ''Climatic Change'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media covering cross-disciplinary work on all aspects of climate change and variability. It was established in 1978 and the editors-in-chie ...
on tropical ecosystems and biodiversity. Laurance has also studied the drivers of global amphibian declines; quantifying the threats to tropical protected areas; evaluating potential effects of global atmospheric changes on the species composition, dynamics;Y. Malhi and O. L. Phillips, eds.). Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K."> and carbon storage of intact tropical forests; and understanding how droughts affect tropical tree communities. Laurance is also involved with the Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative, a $15 million program run by
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
and the Smithsonian Institution to train environmental decision-makers across Latin America and Southeast Asia. Laurance also writes in popular magazines about environmental policies in the tropics.


Awards and honours

His awards include the 2008 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology (co-winner with Thomas Lovejoy), the Heineken Environment Prize, and a Distinguished Service Award from the
Society for Conservation Biology The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an 501(c)(3) non-profit international professional organization that is dedicated to conserving biodiversity. There are over 4,000 members worldwide, including students and those in related non-academ ...
. * Cassowary Prize for Tropical Research and Conservation, 2018 * Elected
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of the Australian Academy of Science, 2015. * Outstanding Contributions to Nature Conservation, Zoological Society of London, 2015. * The Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and A. H. Heineken Foundation, 2012. * Distinguished Service Award, Society for Conservation Biology, 2011. * Six-time recipient of the Faculty of 1000 Selection for Outstanding Articles. * Four-time winner of Australia's Best Science Writing Prize. * Top 50-most cited papers in Biological Conservation. * Australian Laureate Fellowship, 2010 * Distinguished Alumni Award, Boise State University, USA, 2010. *
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...
in Ecology and Conservation Biology Award (co-winner with
Thomas Lovejoy Thomas Eugene Lovejoy III (August 22, 1941December 25, 2021) was an American ecologist who was President of the Amazon Biodiversity Center, a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and a university professor in the Environmental Science ...
), 2008 * Highly Cited Researcher Award, ISI Thompson Scientific, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 * Outstanding Paper of the Year, International Association of Landscape Ecologists, 2006


Fellowships and councils

* President-elect, President, and Past-president, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, 2005–2007 * Honorary Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation, 2005 * John A. Erskine Fellow, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 2005 * Executive Council, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, 2004–2005 * Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003 * Executive Council, Australian Mammal Society, 1994–1996


Conservation and public outreach

In 2013 Laurance founded ALERT—the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers. This organization, which Laurance leads, is engaged in scientific and conservation advocacy and currently reaches 1-2 million readers each week using a range of social-media platforms. Laurance has also been involved in scores of conservation initiatives via his involvement with professional scientific societies, including the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Society for Conservation Biology, and American Society of Mammalogists. These include his efforts to: * Oppose new roads and oil projects inside Ecuadorian protected areas * Reduce illegal gold mining in the Guiana Shield of northern South America * Slow the pace of
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
* Limit rapid expansion of industrial logging in Guyana * Applaud the designation of new protected areas in Gabon * Reduce logging and
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
encroachment into the Rio Caura basin of
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
* Halt illegal colonization of
protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in central Amazonia * Support a new national park in the imperiled Cerro Chucantí region of
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
* Promote designation of the "Heart of Borneo" network of protected areas * Oppose tropical deforestation for expansion of biofuel feedstocks * Improve the environmental role of the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards and multistakeholder governance. The seat of the association is i ...
* Promote international
carbon emission trading Emission trading (ETS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is a form of carbon pricing; also known as cap and trade (CAT) or carbon pricing. It is an approach to limit climate change by creating a market with limited ...
for forest conservation * Decry the rapid conversion of subtropical forests in China for rubber plantations * Oppose clearing of threatened tropical dry forests in Mexico * Urge China to reduce its massive trade in illegal tropical timber * Support new legislation to halt imports of illegal timber into Australia


References


External links


Official website of the Laurance laboratory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurance, William F 1957 births Living people American conservationists Educators from Oregon James Cook University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Winners of the Heineken Prize Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science