Cora van Oosten

Cora van Oosten is a Human Geographer, with over 20 years of international experience in natural resources management, governance, regional planning, civil society building, citizen’s participation, gender, and rights based approaches. She has worked as (senior) adviser, project manager, team leader, researcher and consultant at the local, regional, national and international level. She was posted in Africa (Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana), Latin America (Bolivia), and Asia (Cambodia). At present, Cora is employed as senior project leader at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, where she is in charge of a project portfolio related to natural resources management, landscape/ecosystems approaches, and environmental governance. All her projects are marked by a strong focus on capacity development, social learning, and institutional change. An example of this can be found on the learning network on forest landscape restoration, one of the projects which is presently under her supervision (http://www.ideastransformlandscapes.org). Throughout her career, Cora has developed an interest in borders and the specific dynamics of border regions. The management of transboundary natural resources management and the increasing emergence of transboundary social networks form an important element in this. In general, Cora is an enthusiastic person, able to motivate people, and put processes into motion. She is a good communicator and networker, with a positive attitude and a healthy sense of humour.