I have been working as a field inspector for the Norwegian Environment Agency since 2013. Some of my tasks are within the field of non-food consumer product safety with regard to chemical properties (RoHS, REACH, CLP, POPs), European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) and CITES.
I have a masters degree in archaeology and previously worked as an environmental crimes coordinator with the Oslo Police Department.
Trained Environmental Planner, Manager and Policy Analyst in Environmental Policy working at the interface of people-ecosystems' interactions. Thomas has developed and implemented innovative tools for managing people-ecosystems interactions such as REDD+, payments for ecosystem services, environmental impact assessments (EIAs), audits and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs).
Currently forestry officer at FAO, working as regional coordinator for the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, I am based at the FAO sub-regional office of central Africa, in Libreville, Gabon. With a double qualification of doctor in veterinary medicine and PhD in tropical forest ecology, I have nearly 20 years of experience designing and managing field based projects and programmes in tropical forest regions, mostly in the Guiana shield and the Congo Basin. My areas of expertise cover the sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation, working with a variety of stakeholders going from rural communities and territorial authorities, to researchers and experts in various disciplines, as well as high-level decision makers in governmental and intergovernmental bodies. I am particularly interested in experiencing cross-sectoral approaches to maintain ecosystem health (such as the One Health approach), in developing mechanisms that can improve the governance of natural resources whether at field level or at national and international level, and in promoting evidence-based and participatory policy development approaches allowing the effective integration of scientific and traditional knowledge.
Dr Liz Womack is a Senior Technical Specialist at UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge. She has extensive experience supporting multilateral Conventions and agreements relating to the sustainable and legal trade in wildlife and timber, and more recently in supporting the global transition towards sustainable and deforestation-free commodity supply chains. Liz provides the European Commission and EU Member States with support to implement the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products, the EU Timber Regulation and FLEGT Regulation.
