Dr. Talbot is an ecologist and geographer with over 50 years experience in national and international environmental affairs, biodiversity conservation, management of wild living resources, environmental policies and institutions, environment and development, ecological research and advising in 131 countries. He is also a senior environmental advisor to World Bank and U.N. organizations.

Former positions have included, among others, Chief Scientist and Foreign Affairs Director of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality for Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter; head of Environmental Sciences for the Smithsonian Institution; Director-General of IUCN – the World Conservation Union; Member of over 20 committees and panels of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council; and Senior Scientific Advisor to the International Council of Scientific Unions. He has conducted over 130 exploration and research expeditions to remote or unknown areas on five continents. He is author of over 270 scientific, technical and popular publications including 17 books and monographs, with some translations in nine foreign languages.