Session S1.5

Moderator

Session speakers

A native of Phenix City, AL, Angela began her career as a news reporter for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. A summa cum laude graduate of Troy University, she completed postgraduate course work at American University in Washington, DC. She also served as a Senior Executive Fellow for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2010, Angela was sworn in as a member of the Senior Executive Service.

From 2005 to 2010 he worked as a governmental delegation of Republic of Korea at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), on behalf of forest fields. From 2010 to 2012, he worked as a Seconded Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Indonesia, in charge of the NIFoS-CIFOR Cooperative research project. Also, from 2011 to 2016, he led a feasibility study on REDD project on the west protection forest management unit (KPHL Rinjani Barat) of Indonesia, as a Principal Investigator in Lombok, Indonesia.

He held major positions such as Director of Forest Policy Division and Director-General of Future Forest Strategy Department, and he has been working as the President of NIFoS since Febuary, 2023.

From 2003 to 2010 he was Executive Director of IUFRO, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. From 1998 to 2003 Peter Mayer was the head of the Liaison Unit of Forest Europe responsible for developing pan-European forest policy. He holds a Master’s degree in forestry and political science and a PhD in forest policy.

Cécile is a member of a good number of networks and professional societies at national, regional and global levels. In September 2000, she co-funded Cameroon Ecology, a local NGO to promote community forestry; In May 2009, she co-funded REFACOF, a Sub-Sahara women’s Platform of the forest sector.

Cécile is COMIFAC Climate Change Champion, Wangari Maathaï Forests Champion, UNEP Champion of the Earth and Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity 2023 Winner.

Erich Schaitza – a researcher from Embrapa – is a forest engineer with a master’s degree in renewable energy systems. Currently, he is working at Wood Tech Science and innovation platform, which aims at promoting the sustainable development of mass timber use and wood construction. He is a former General Director of Embrapa Forestry.

Along his career, Erich has acted both as a researcher in small-scale forestry and in administrative positions as Deputy Director for Communication and Business, International Affairs Liaison and Coordinator of Embrapa Africa. He was an officeholder in IUFRO’s Latin America and the Caribbean Information Network in the 90’s, country representative of Brazil from 2000–2005 and is a President’s Nominee in the current IUFRO Board period.

Moderators

Maja Radosavljevic, Partnership Manager at IUFRO HQ, brings a rich academic and professional background to her role. As economist she obtained an MSc in forest policy and economics. She recently completed her PhD program at the University of Padua, successfully defending her thesis and further enriching her expertise.

With extensive experience in Serbia’s state forestry sector, she was actively engaged in Western Balkan initiatives and has led projects funded by international organizations, tackling issues such as forest policy, illegal logging, climate change, and environmental protection.

Carola holds a degree in Civil Engineering and an international Master’s degree in Natural Resources Management and Environmental Engineering. Before joining IUFRO in 2021, she worked at the Institute of Development Research at BOKU University and as lead construction manager.

Session speakers

Viveka holds a Master of law from Lund University and has worked in the Swedish judicial system, as a lawyer (advokat) at one of Sweden’s major lawfirms and as General Counsel both in the IT industry and in the forest industry. Her most recent post was as general counsel and head of Real estate at Sveaskog, Sweden’s largest forest owner. Viveka has served both as board member and chairman of the board in various companies.

Bernard de Galembert (French, 57) holds a Master in Business Management (1994) and a Master in Human Resources Management (2017). In the early 2000’s, he also followed a 2-year training in forest management and sylviculture.

After more than 32 years in European public affairs for various sectors (sugar industry, farmers unions, landowners, pulp and paper industry and chemical industry), he joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in January 2024 as Director of the Forest Solutions Group (FSG).

Besides his professional activities, he is managing a farmland and a forestland family company.

Rob Kozak is a Professor and Dean at the UBC Faculty of Forestry and the former Associate Dean, Academic and Head of the Wood Science Department.

His current research and teaching interests, as part of the Forests and Communities in Transition Lab, revolve around sustainable business management practices and issues and providing business-based solutions to complex problems related to sustainable development, forestry, wood products, and the emerging conservation economy.

Currently, his work focuses on the wellbeing of forest-dependent communities, international development and poverty alleviation strategies, forest certification, corporate social responsibility, and forest sector sustainability and competitiveness. He has published and presented his work widely and is actively involved in service to the university and the broader academic community.

Dirk Längin brings over two decades of expertise in forestry to his current role. Since 2021, he has served as the Group Head of Fibre Sourcing at Mondi in Vienna. Prior to this, he held various forest management positions within Mondi South Africa from 2008 to 2021.

From 2000 to 2008, Dirk was actively engaged as a Researcher and Lecturer in Forest Engineering and Forest Work Science at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany) and Stellenbosch (South Africa). He holds a Dr. rer. Nat. and Diplom Forstwirt from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Tetra Yanuariadi is the ITTO Projects Manager of Trade and Industry (since 2008) where goals include enhancing SFM in the tropics while expanding and diversifying the trade in tropical wood products from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests. The objectives are to grow financial/policy support for the implementation of SFM in the tropics, address market access/customs regulations and international policies for tropical forest products and identify measures to implement and balance sustainable production/consumption in line with the SDGs 2030.

He was previously the Head of Forestry Division/Forestry Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy, Tokyo; Head of Evaluation Division of the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Environment; and Forest Program Coordinator of WWF Indonesia. He graduated from Forestry Faculty of Mulawarman University, Indonesia (1985) and holds a master’s degree in Forest Science from ITC-Twente University (1991) and a PhD degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University (1999).

Moderator

Christoph Wildburger is the Coordinator of IUFRO’s Science-Policy Programme, which provides a mechanism for effectively communicating information and scientific expertise to governments and intergovernmental processes related to forests and trees. He has over 25 years of experience working at the interface between forest science and policy, both in research projects and as an advisor to international organisations and governments.

Christoph holds a PhD from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. His core areas of expertise include environmental policies, conservation biology and biological diversity, as well as in-depth knowledge of related international processes and institutional frameworks.

Session speakers

Her areas of expertise comprise forest governance, bioeconomy, policy integration, participation and political communication. She supports diverse science-policy interactions and is a Member of the Bioeconomy Council of Baden-Württemberg and the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

Dr. Nelson Grima, Deputy Coordinator of the Science-Policy Programme of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), supports the design and implementation of projects that generate the scientific knowledge products that serve as a base for a more informed decision making, and then feeds these products and knowledge into relevant, forest-related processes such as UNFF, UNFCCC, CBD, IPBES, CITES, and other international and intergovernmental processes.

With an academic background in ecosystem services, European forestry, and forest engineering, and through extensive hands-on working experience in diverse regions of the world, he gained a deep understanding of human-nature interactions and their effects on ecosystems, livelihoods, and well-being from local to global scale.

Nathalie Faure is a Senior law and policy advisor with over 15 years of experience advising governments and empowering NGOs to engage in decision-making processes on forests in Asia and Africa.

After leading RECOFTC’s regional work on governance and rights in Southeast Asia, she recently joined EticWood, where she is responsible for the technical coordination of the EU FLEGT VPA Programme in Africa and Latin America. Her interventions are diverse, ranging from conducting action research and legal analysis to the facilitation of policy dialogues and the development of regional standards.

Her areas of expertise include governance and trade, community forestry, indigenous and local communities’ rights, access to justice and gender.

Moderators

With an academic background in ecosystem services, European forestry, and forest engineering, and through extensive hands-on working experience in diverse regions of the world, he gained a deep understanding of human-nature interactions and their effects on ecosystems, livelihoods, and well-being from local to global scale.

Session speakers

Dr. Park has over 30 years’ experience in the forest sector and international affairs. He previously served as the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, the President of the Korea Forest Land Restoration Technology Institute and Vice Executive Director of the ASEAN-Korea Forest Cooperation Secretariat. Dr. Park holds a masters in forest policy from Michigan State University and a PhD in forestry from Chungnam National University.

She has been deeply involved in the leadership of scientific management, serving as Dean and from 2021 to 2024 as Vice-President of the University of Freiburg. She supports diverse science-policy interactions and is a Member of the Bioeconomy Council of Baden-Württemberg.

She is also the main lead author of the recent IUFRO study on International Forest Governance to be published in May.

Thomas Haußmann is the Head of the Liaison Unit of FOREST EUROPE. FOREST EUROPE is a Pan-European voluntary high-level forest policy process aiming to develop common strategies for its 46 signatories on how to protect and sustainably manage forests.

Mr. Haußmann has more than 30 years of experience in different international forest policy positions. He worked as a national expert at the European Commission in Brussels, at Germany’s Permanent Representation to the FAO in Rome and as chair of the UN Economic Commission for Euope’s International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests.

Dr. Doris Mutta is Senior Programme Officer at the African Forest Forum (AFF). AFF is a pan-African non-governmental organization aiming to provide a platform and create an enabling environment for independent and objective analysis, advocacy and advice on relevant policy and technical issues pertaining to achieving sustainable management, use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources.

Dr. Mutta is a natural resources scientist experienced in sustainable management of forestry, marine and coastal ecosystems in Africa. She previously worked with the Nairobi Convention Secretariat, UNEP and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute focusing on science-based management, policy and institutional analysis.

Ms. Paredes is a committed and highly qualified Ecuadorian professional with an outstanding career in the field of international cooperation and management of socio-environmental projects. Her work experience encompasses international project management and collaboration with international organizations, governments and NGOs in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has led advocacy and fundraising strategies to facilitate linkages and dialogue with diverse stakeholders and contributed to strengthening livelihoods in vulnerable communities.

Moderator

Session speakers

In 2023 Madeleine was appointed honorary doctor at SLU’s Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences. Madeleine is now a member of the Swedish FAO committee, the board of the World Wildlife Fund in Sweden and the board of Vi Agroforestry. She is one of the founders for the Agroforestry Network in Sweden.

Dr Ubalijoro has been a professor of practice for public-private sector partnerships at McGill University since 2008, with research interests focusing on innovation, gender and sustainable development for prosperity creation. From 2021 to March 2023, she was the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Canada Hub Director for Future Earth.

Dr. Wu has more than 20 years of experience in valuation and payment of forest ecosystem services, multi-purpose forest management, forests and climate change with focuses on policy and markets, and international forest governance. She has been serving as a coordinator of IUFRO Division 9.04.02 – Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Carbon Markets, and member of IUFRO Task Force on Planted Forests. She has authored or coauthored 110+ refereed papers and 12 books or book chapters. Currently, she is a leading PI/Co-PI for several NFGA-funded and MOST-funded projects.

Sylvestre Chabi Djagoun is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, an Associate Professor and a member of the Applied Ecology Laboratory at the University of Abomey Calavi. As a specialist in wildlife conservation and protected area management, he has accumulated over 15 years of professional experience in this field.

His research work can be summarized in three main areas: (i) Ecosystem Impact and Sustainability of Bushmeat Exploitation in the forested islands of Benin, (ii) Ecohealth and sustainability of hunting in Benin, and (iii) Sustainable wildlife management and the planning and management of protected areas.

Dr. DJAGOUN is a member of the Academy of Young Scientists in Benin and has been an affiliated member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) since 2014.

Thais Linhares-Juvenal is a Senior Advisor for Governance, Economics and Production, and Secretary of the International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment (IPC), FAO.

After a 15-year tenure at the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), she served as Director of Climate Change of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, Director of the Brazilian Forest Service, Executive Secretary of the Amazon Fund Technical Committee and Co-Chair of the REDD+ Partnership. She joined FAO in 2011, where she served as Deputy Head of the UN-REDD Programme Secretariat before moving to Rome.

In 2017, Thais led the efforts converging into the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) Joint Initiative “Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World” (SW4SW).

Toby Gardner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and Director of Trase (www.trase.earth). Toby has twenty-five years’ experience working on the sustainable development of tropical landscapes. Founded in 2016, Trase is a science-based supply chain transparency initiative that is widely recognized as a ground-breaking source of information and analysis on the sustainability of international trade, with a focus on agricultural commodities linked to deforestation.

He has contributed to a number of international environmental policy processes and has worked extensively on sustainable land-use in the Brazilian Amazon. He has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and in 2012 was awarded the biannual British Ecological Society’s Founders’ Prize for significant contributions to the science of ecology.

Moderator

He is the leader of the FAO-UNECE Forest Communicators Network as well as a member of the FAO global forest communications coordination group. Kai studied environmental and land use economics as well as communications at the University of Helsinki. He holds a Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) degree.

Session speakers

As part of her work, she carries out extensive training and mentoring of forest communicators at national, regional, and global levels and speaks at international conferences about communication strategies and the importance of communication for the forestry community. Prior to her current role, she worked in media relations and advocacy for FAO and spent 12 years working as a journalist for leading newspapers and television agencies.

Since 2021, he is the Chair of the PEFC. He has been on several international boards and panels, including the EFI Scientific Advisory Board, the Water and Environment Research Institute of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the IUFRO Forest Legislation Working Group, the Advisory Board of CIHEAM and the patronage of Pau Costa Foundation, and the Spanish Board of Foresters.

Her research focuses on exploring tropical wood properties, with a particular emphasis on its variability and species identification. Her ultimate aim is to drive significant advancements towards the efficient and sustainable utilization of forestry resources in tropical regions. She is currently involved in the Wood for Globe project led by IUFRO, FAO and BOKU Vienna, which aims to create a global wood policy platform to support the use of sustainable wood for a carbon-neutral bioeconomy worldwide.

He was chief architect of the city of Barcelona, spearheading major transformations in the city, which was named European Capital of Innovation in 2014. He also co-founded the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, where he currently works in the development of bio-cities and is building the tallest wooden dwelling building in Barcelona.

In her current role as Communications Manager at Forest Stewardship Council, she is the lead for communication in Europe. Her focus is media engagement and storytelling to build a positive narrative about sustainable forest management which combines nature conservation with use of wood and forest products.

Since 2011, she spearheaded production of several short documentaries such as ‘Afforesting Iceland’, featured by National Geographic reaching four and half million views or ‘Forest Rebooted’ showed at the Paris Science Film Festival.

Moderator

Session speakers

He received an MSc in Forestry from the Copenhagen Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and a BSc in International Economics from Copenhagen Business School.

She has a wealth of experience in international development managing complex initiatives across Africa, in Latin America, and Canada with a focus on the environment, community livelihood and gender equality. As the first female forester in West Africa, she pioneered ground-breaking initiatives including participatory management of protected areas.

Ms. Biao served as Benin’s Minister of Environment and Nature Protection as well as Acting Minister of Family and the Child.

Before moving to Luke, she worked at Technical Research Centre Finland Ltd. as vice president, research with responsibility of the bioeconomy research.

Her own research has focused on biorefinery concepts with special emphasis on exploitation of different biomass hydrolyzing and modifying enzymes as tools in food processing and in food by-product valorization as well as in pulp and paper processing.

As a research scientist within the US Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and as a Science Center Director with the US Geo-logical Survey and throughout his management roles as State Forester of Ohio and a Director within the National Forest Sys-tem, his career has been defined by the challenge of how to best produce, interpret, and apply science for the benefit of people and ecosystems.

Moderator

Session speakers

She holds a BSc in forest sciences from the University of Helsinki and she is currently doing her MSc in International Forestry at the University of Freiburg, specialising in forest policy. She works for better youth and stakeholder involvement in various ways, has experience in representing youth in international forums and events, such as FAO and UNFCCC, and she organised the first Youth Forest Policy Days event in 2022.

She sits on the Board of the International Society of Tropical Foresters (ISTF) and the Global Network for Forestry Young Professionals (ForYP). She is the Program Lead for Nature-based Solutions at Veritree, a start-up company that provides a fully integrated monitoring and verification platform designed to have more transparent restoration efforts.

Currently, Isabelle works as a Communication Associate in CIFOR-ICRAF for the “Sustainable Farming in Tropical Asian Landscapes” Project. She serves as the President of the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA), an international network of forestry students where she had 2 years of prior service as the Internal Councilor. In 2021, she was the Vice President of the Association of Filipino Forestry Students – UPLB (AFFS-UPLB) which is a duly recognized academic-environmental organization in the Philippines.

He was a Junior Analyst at Forsite Consultants Ltd. in the summer of 2023, working on computer programming, geospatial analysis, and mathematical modeling. Moreover, with a passion for the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and forestry, he founded Forestry AI, an international society for everybody worldwide to learn, share, discuss, and collaborate on any work about AI for Forestry.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Forestry and Environmental Management from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, where she finished with a First-Class Honors. Ngozi is pursuing a research-based master’s in European Forestry through the Erasmus Mundus Joint master’s degree at the University of Eastern Finland. & Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany. She firmly advocates inclusive and indigenous participation in forest management and policy formulation.