Julian Caldecott.
Envisioning peace with nature — the ecologist charting humanity’s path back into balance with the living world.
Dr Julian Caldecott is one of the world’s foremost voices on climate change, biodiversity and conservation — an ecologist whose extraordinary career spans frontline rainforest research, global policy advice, and acclaimed writing. He began by studying monkeys, apes and bearded pigs in the forests of Borneo, and those early expeditions still animate the vivid, story-led clarity he brings to even the most complex environmental challenges. Few can match his rare combination of scientific depth, hard-won field experience, and a gift for making difficult ideas genuinely accessible.
Over a distinguished career, Julian has advised governments across tropical Asia, West Africa and the Americas on biodiversity, protected areas and wildlife policy, with long-term assignments in Malaysia, Nigeria and Indonesia. As lead consultant and founder of Creatura Ltd, he has evaluated more than £10 billion in sustainable development and climate change investment, leading major evaluations for Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the World Bank, and conducting studies for the United Nations Environment Programme on disaster risk reduction and environmental policy, law and treaties. His judgement has shaped some of the most significant environmental portfolios and climate funds in the world.
Julian is also a prolific and widely respected author, with books published by the World Bank, the United Nations, Routledge, Virgin, Ellipsis, and the California and Cambridge university presses. His titles include Designing Conservation Projects (Cambridge, 1996), Aid Performance and Climate Change (Routledge, 2017), Water: Life in Every Drop (Bladud, 2020), and Surviving Climate Chaos by Strengthening Communities and Ecosystems (Cambridge, 2021), alongside a landmark recent paper on Earth system tipping points and their implications for climate investment. As one reviewer observed, despite immensely complex subject matter, Julian writes with an accessibility and urgency that reflect both the gravity of the moment and the passion of the author.
At the heart of Julian’s work is a commitment to “peace with nature” — promoting globally aware, networked action on the climate emergency through partnership-based ecosystem protection, education and governance. A Trustee of the Scottish Wildlife Trust since 2001, he combines a global outlook with a deep love of Scotland’s landscapes, history and natural heritage. His aim, always, is to tell meaningful and useful stories: bringing an eye-witness clarity to the great transformations of our time, from deforestation to the restoration of balance between people and the natural world.
As a consultant and speaker, Julian offers something genuinely rare: ecological expertise, decades of field experience, forensic analysis of complex issues, and first-hand knowledge of both the threats we face and the solutions within reach. He has a keen eye for where opportunities have been missed and why — and for how performance can be dramatically improved. In an increasingly risky and uncertain world, his insight is an invaluable asset to any institution willing to listen.