Meet Your Instructors

Instructor: Wan Razali

Hello! My name is Wan Razali (people call me Dr. Wan or Prof. Wan) and I am one of your instructors for this course. Initially this course was known as Sustainable Use of Forest Goods and Services. With the advent of knowledge and high awareness of the public on forest resources, environment and goods and services that forests can provide, Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystem Services apparently becomes a preferred choice as the name of this online course.

Since 2009, I have been a senior professor in the Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM Serdang), about 30km south of Kuala Lumpur. I retired from the Malaysian government in late 2007 after 32 years of service. I had a short stint with the Agriculture Department Peninsular Malaysia after completing my Diploma in Agriculture in 1973; then joined the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia (FDPM) as Conservator of Forest after completing my B.Sc. Forestry and M.Sc in USA in 1977. I was on full time study leave from my work in 1982 and completed my Ph.D at the University of Washington in 1986; then joined the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) as Senior Research Officer in 1986 until my retirement. UPM, Louisiana State University, and University of Washington are my alma maters. From 1978 – 1982 while serving the FDPM and FRIM, I was also a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Forestry, UPM. Then work commitments and responsibilities with FRIM allowed me to continue occasionally only as a guest lecturer at UPM. While with the FDPM, FRIM and UPM I did many consultancies in forestry with national and international organizations, notably with FAO, IDRC, PROSEA, CIFOR, SWEDFOREST, DANCED, UNDP, SIRIM-FSC, USAID, and APFNet-APAFRI. I was the National Chairman of Intensification of Research in Priority Areas (IRPA) Technical Program for Experimental-Applied Research (EAR), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (MOSTI), and Chairman of ScienceFund of MOSTI for Industrial Plantations and Forestry Crops. MOSTI is the government agency responsible for funding research for the whole country. At about the same time, I was also an expert member of the Committee on Sustainable Forest Management Malaysia-the Netherlands, ISO/TC-207: WG2 Forestry on ISO Forest Certification, FAO: Harmonizing Forest-Related Definitions for Use by Various Stakeholders, FAO: Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, and UNEP/IPCC/WG III-Mitigation of Climate Change – that jointly won the Noble Peace Prize in 2007 for its Third Assessment Report on Climate Change. For the period from 2012-2015, I was appointed by APFNet in Beijing as an international member of its Project Funding Review Committee. I am also a lead auditor and peer reviewer under FSC- and MTCS-based forest management certifications.

At UPM, I teach both undergraduate and graduate courses in forest science, (sustainable/ advance) forest management, forest resource inventory, and forestry modeling. An important part of my work, together with Prof. Awang Noor (the other instructor), is to promote the sustainable use of forest ecosystem services in the context of sustainable forest management and national economy. I can be contacted at +60133850011 (mobile) and wanrazali@upm.edu.my.

Instructor: Awang Noor

Hai! I am Awang Noor. Most people call me Dr. Awang or Prof. Awang, and I am the other instructor that Prof. Wan Razali referred to in this course. I started my professional career as a lecturer in 1983 at the Faculty of Forestry, UPM after graduating with B.Sc (For) from UPM. I went on to complete my M.Sc. and Ph. D, specializing in Forest Resource Economics at the Michigan State University, USA. I was the Dean, Faculty of Forestry, UPM from 2009-2012.

My expertise is in various areas, notably Forest Resource Valuation and Accounting, Forest Revenue System, Forest Concession Policy, Forest Sector Modelling, Economics of Forest Management, Econometric Analysis, and Statistical Modelling. One of my current research interest is in the payment for ecosystem services (PES) from the perspective of national economies, sustainable forest management, and national forest policy. At UPM, I teach both undergraduate and graduate courses in forest economics, quantitative methods in forestry, econometric methods in forestry, and forest resource valuation and accounting. I have provided consultancies to many international and national organizations in my areas of expertise, including PES. Hence, I am happy to contribute my knowledge and expertise via this online course. I can be contacted at +60193888018 (mobile) and awangnoor@upm.edu.my.