Lorenzo Cotula

Principal researcher (law and sustainable development), Natural Resources; team leader, legal tools

Lorenzo Cotula leads research, policy engagement and field-level projects on the legal arenas where natural resource governance meets the global economy – cutting across land and natural resource law and governance; international investment law; law and transnational value chains; human rights law, including business and human rights; political economy of natural resources and foreign investment; and legal empowerment, citizen agency and public accountability.

Full biography

Lorenzo is also a visiting professor at the School of Law, University of Strathclyde.

Expertise

Land and natural resource governance; economic law, particularly international investment law; human rights; “responsible investment”, particularly in agriculture and the extractive industries; rural producers and agricultural value chains; law and political economy in natural resource investments; legal and socio-legal research methods; legal empowerment approaches; citizen participation in law reform. Extensive country experience in Africa and Asia.

Before IIED

Research consultant to the Legal Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); collaboration with two Italian NGOs.

Education
Postgraduate certificate in Sustainable Business, University of Cambridge; PhD in Law, University of Edinburgh; MSc in Development Studies (Distinction), London School of Economics; Degree in Law (cum laude), University "La Sapienza" of Rome.

Current work

Lead on Legal Tools for Citizen Empowerment, a collaborative initiative to strengthen rights in policy arenas associated with natural resource investments – from local land governance to transnational value chains and international investment treaties.