Claude Martin

Claude Martin

"Honorary Advisor of WWF International and past Director General, 1993-2005

"A Swiss national, Claude Martin was born in Zurich in 1945. His WWF career started in the early 1970s, when he lived in Central India studying the ecology of the threatened barasingha deer. From 1975 to 1978 he served as director of national parks in Ghana, before becoming director of WWF-Switzerland in 1980. In 1990 he joined WWF International as Deputy Director General (Program). Three years later, he was appointed Director General of WWF International. In this position he initiated several new approaches in conservation, as well as international partnerships, for example with the World Bank and business/industry groups. From 1995-2006 Claude Martin has been a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) – a high level advisory body to the Chinese Government.

"Since 2006 he is the chairman of the International Sustainability Innovation Council of Switzerland – ISIS, the Chancellor of the International University in Geneva – a business school, and a board member of several other environmental organizations.

"Claude Martin holds a MSc. in zoology from the University of Zurich where he graduated with a PhD thesis in wildlife biology in 1975." 


 * Director, International Institute for Sustainable Development
 * Advisory Council, LEAD International