Rhett has more than 25 years research experience in tropical landscapes. He began his career studying the ecology of Bornean tropical rain forests and transitioned to research on more applied environmental issues in multi-use landscapes about 2005. Rhett joined World Agroforestry in 2013, working first in Kunming China and moving to Lusaka, Zambia in 2016. Four main themes dominate his work: (1) forest landscape restoration, (2) the role of biodiversity in the provisioning of ecosystem services, (3) agroforestry and the restoration of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes and tree monocultures, such as rubber, and (4) bushmeat hunting and wildlife conservation.