James Gordon Nelson is a Canadian geographer with a long interest in landscape history, landscape change, and planning. He has focused on the links between research and policy and has undertaken field studies in Canada, the United States, the U.K., Central Europe, Indonesia, and many other parts of the world. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, and is currently a member of the International Commission on National Parks of the World Conservation Union. Nelson holds the position of distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo.