Walter has 37 years professional forestry experience, of which 25 years were committed to international development. He gained comprehensive proficiency working for international organizations, forestry departments, banks, forest consulting companies, and private forest business ventures. He is author and co-author of over 140 publications and work reports on forestry related topics. Walter completed his MSc in Forestry Science in Munich in 1979. After successfully passing the State Examination in Forestry he worked for the Bavarian State Forestry Department and the Chair for Forest Policy and Forest Economics at the University of Munich. He completed his doctoral degree in Forest Economics (Dr. rer. silv.) in 1991, and one year later, started his international career with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). After having worked in Southeast Asia for 14 years he moved back to Germany in 2006 and started working in forest business development and advisory services for WaKa Forest Investment Services AG. From 2010 to 2017 Walter held the position of Planted Forests Officer and headed the Secretariat of the International Poplar Commission at FAO-HQ in Rome. Since early 2017 he took up again an assignment with WaKa’s Management Board and heads its Portugal Office.