The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our dear colleague, Peter deMarsh. Peter was the chair of the International Family Forest Alliance (IFFA), a renowned family and community forestry organization representing more than 25 million forest owners around the world. While IFFA became an Affiliated Network of the RRI Coalition in 2016, we had had the honor of working closely with Peter for many years and have sought his expertise time and time again on the development of our work in support of locally-controlled and community-led enterprises. Peter was traveling to participate in a conference on family-owned forests and climate change in Nairobi when he was killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

In his personal life, Peter was a family forest owner who lived in New Brunswick, Canada. Our thoughts and condolences are with Peter’s family and his colleagues at IFFA during this difficult time. We join our friends at Red MOCAF and our Coalition members as a whole in remembering the impact Peter left upon this world and in mourning the loss of one of our planet’s brightest, most dedicated champions.