William James Sutherland (born 27 April 1956) is the Director of Research at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
Department of Zoology, and was previously the
Miriam Rothschild
Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild (5 August 1908 – 20 January 2005) was a British natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology, entomology, and botany.
Early life
Miriam Rothschild was born in 1908 in Ashton, North Northamptonshire ...
Professor of
Conservation Biology
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an i ...
. He has been the president of the
British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...
. He has been a
Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...
since 2008. In 2025, he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.
Research
Sutherland's research interests largely involve predicting the consequences of environmental change. He is known for his research on integrating science and policy particularly in the field of evidence-based conservation. Over the last three decades, his research has spanned several disciplines. Two of his key contributions have been the
horizon scanning
Horizon scanning (HS) or horizon scan is a method from futures studies, sometimes regarded as a part of foresight. It is the early detection and assessment of emerging technologies or threats for mainly policy makers in a domain of choice. Su ...
exercises to identify future priority issues and the 100 important questions in various disciplines (ecology, poverty prevention, global agriculture and food amongst others. He has also worked extensively on bird population ecology and the biodiversity impacts of agriculture.
He has been cited 23,955 times and has an i10-index of 277.
Research career
Sutherland was awarded the
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British Research Councils UK, research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.
History
NERC began in 1965 when several envir ...
postdoctoral fellowship to join Wolfson College, Oxford in 1980–82. After completing his post-doctoral research he joined the School of Environmental Sciences at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
in 1983 and went on to hold a professorship in Biology from 1996–2006 in the School of Biological Sciences. He was also a trustee of Fauna & Flora International from 1998 to 2006, and the President of the
British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...
from 2013-2015.
Honours and awards
*Scientific Medal,
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
, 1997;
*Marsh Award for Ecology,
British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
, 2005;
*Ecological Engagement Award,
British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...
International Cosmos Prize
The International Cosmos Prize was established in 1993, commemorating Expo '90 in Osaka, Japan. The objective of the prize was to develop the basic concept of Expo '90, "The Harmonious Coexistence between Nature and Humankind" and is awarded by t ...
, 2024
Sutherland was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the
2021 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...
for services to evidence-based conservation., and a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
(FRS) in 2023.
Books
He has authored three books: ''Transforming Conservation: A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making'', ''The Conservation Handbook'' and ''From Individual Behaviour to Population Ecology''. Additionally, he has also edited the following books: ''Managing Habitats for Conservation'', ''Ecological Census Techniques'', ''Behaviour and Conservation'', ''Conservation Science and Action'' and ''Bird Ecology, Conservation: a Handbook of Techniques'' and ''Transforming Conservation- A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making'', He has also co-authored the summaries on amphibian, bird, bee and farmland conservation,
A gratis book scheme that he established has given away more than 5,000 books to 137 countries.