Willie Smits Chief Science Officer
Arsari Group
Indonesia

BiographyDr.Ir. Willie Smits is a Dutch-born Indonesian environmentalist. He studied tropical forestry, tropical soil science and genetics for his Master of Science degree at Agricultural University, Wageningen in The Netherlands, where he also earned a doctorate in Environmental Sciences. Since 1980, Dr. Smits has been working in South East Asia, predominantly Indonesia.

His focus is the long-term security and sustainability of the worlds environment. As an official member of the Indonesian delegation to the UN conference on climate change in Paris in December, 2015 (COP21), he presented a plan that weaves together reforestation, carbon neutral / negative energy production and sustainable job creation for local communities. It is the culmination of 25 years of research in the field.