He is also Professor in natural resources management at Stockholm University and executive director of Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

He has over twelve years of research and development work in developing countries, with more than 40 scientific publications in areas of water resource management, agricultural development, environmental management, systems research and resilience research.

He has served as regional advisor to the Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA) of Sida, Sweden's development agency. He has contributed to the management and strategic planning of WaterNet, a regional capacity building programme on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in Southern Africa, as well as 40 higher-learning and research institutions in 12 countries.

He is coordinator of several national and regional research and development projects linked to the Global Water Partnership, the Global Dialogue on Water for Food and Environmental Security, and the Resilience Alliance.

He serves on the Steering Committee of the Comprehensive Assessment on Water Management in Agriculture, and the African Conservation Tillage Network.

He has carried out research activities on agricultural water management and watershed management in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

See video from the seminar in honour of Professor C.S Holling, winner of the Volvo Environment Prize 2008:

Johan Rockström: Global Environmental Change and the Resilience Challenge