Matthijs Schouten has a background in biology, Celtic linguistics and literature, comparative religious studies and Eastern philosophy. He led the Dutch-Irish Bog Conservation Project in 1970s which went on to become synonymous with bog conservation in Ireland. He is Professor by Special Appointment of Nature and Landscape Protection at the Universities of Cork and special professor of Ecology and Philosophy of Nature Conservation at Wageningen University. In his scientific work he has focused on the study of cultural perceptions of nature.
