Main Stage Action Center and Forums Virtual Booths Lightning Talks Dialogues Media Center Grab and Go

8 November 2023
Delivering a Nature-Positive Economy

About this day

This day explores why our current economic, business and finance models are not fit for a nature-positive future, and highlights some of the many transitions needed. This includes accelerating and financing nature-based solutions through finance and policies, shifting business practices, and accelerating nature-positive businesses, especially micro- and small–businesses.

Session 1

Nature-Based Solutions and Nature-Positive Policies

8 November 2023
9 AM – 12:30 PM EDT

We must change how we value and finance nature, and recognize the many services nature provides for humanity. This session explores a range of nature-based solutions for development - solutions that help people and the planet thrive, and identifies different approaches for securing a nature-positive future through finance and policies.

Segments

Nature-Based Solutions for Prosperity

Nature-based solutions are approaches to protect, restore and sustainably manage nature while achieving multiple societal goals. This segment explores a range of approaches from around the world.

Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Nature is one of our strongest allies in tackling our climate crisis. This segment explores how nature can help us identify nature-based solutions for climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation.

Unlocking Private Sector Finance

Just 1% of the world’s private finance could underwrite all of the SDGs, including action on nature. This segment explores ways to unlock private sector finance for nature.

New Nature-Positive Finance Approaches

This segment looks at different approaches for filling the finance gap for nature, including reimagining the global finance system, and rethinking debt.

Speakers: 

Tris Allinson

BirdLife International

Ryan Bartlett

World Wildlife Fund

Victoria Blessing

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum

Jhon Ccoyo

Parque de la Papa

Phulway Devi

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

David Donnelly

World Wide Fund for Nature-UK

Michael Hands

Inga Foundation

Salman Hussain

United Nations Environment Programme

Nikita Kumari

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Neelam Kumari

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Mami Mizutori

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Chris Moore

Terranomics

Sir Ben Okri

Poet, Novelist, Artist

Jeff Opperman

World Wide Fund for Nature

Midori Paxton

United Nations Development Programme

Rosselin Rodríguez

Planeterra

Stephanie Roe

World Wide Fund for Nature

Manoswini Sarkar

BirdLife International

Gregory Watson

Inter-American Development Bank

Kanni Wignaraja

United Nations Development Programme


Kaveh Zahedi

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Session 2

Delivering a Nature-Positive Economy through Business and Finance

8 November 2023
1 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

This session explores why business and finance is so vital for creating a nature-positive economy. This session begins by making the case that business is an integral part in determining our planet’s future, and showcases approaches to transform finance through sustainable trade, private sector finance and new inclusive approaches for a nature-positive economy.

Segments

Our Planet, Our Business

This segment explores the linkages between our planet and the world’s businesses.

The Role of Sustainable Trade

This segment explores the role of sustainable trade in creating a nature-positive economy, exploring supply chains and sustainable production, including community-level production.

The Role of Private Sector Finance

This segment explores the role of private sector finance, including new models of private sector finance.

Nature-Positive Economy: All In

This segment explores how we need to make a nature-positive economy everyone’s business.

Speakers: 

Indekhwa Anangwe

NatureFinance

Ruth Andrade

Lush Cosmetics

Rachel Biderman

Conservation International

Neil Burgess

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Dr. Cécile Girardin

Nature Based Insights & Nature Based Solutions Initiative, University of Oxford

Georgi Chertkov

OffsetMap

Pei Chi Wong

Global Canopy

Gemma Corrigan

Federated Hermes

Tim Cronin

WWF-Australia

Martin Greijmans

RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests

Marianne Haahr

Global Canopy

Margaux Hein

International Coral Reef Initiative

James Hulse

Global Canopy

Mark Kenber

Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative

Dr. Alexandre Köberle

Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial Business School

Niamh McCarthy

Climate Advisers

Louise Nakagawa

Imaflora

Amy Nguyen

Sustainable & Social

Michael Obersteiner

University of Oxford, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Chris Perceval

S&P Global Sustainable

Fabiana Spinelli

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Emma Thomson

Global Canopy

Mark Titley

Global Canopy

Sophie Van Eetvelt

WWF-UK

Jason Walters

GlobeScan

Mark Wishnie

BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group

Pratya Youngpatana

RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains misleading or false information
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • See blocked member's posts
  • Mention this member in posts
  • Invite this member to groups
  • Message this member
  • Add this member as a connection

Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this

Savvas Zotos

Senior Conservation Scientist

BirdLife International

 

BirdLife’s work on the impact of energy infrastructure on birds is overseen by Tris Allinson, a world expert in the development of spatial planning tools to facilitate responsible energy expansion. Tris works closely with governments, international financial institutions, and the energy sector to ensure that avian data are effectively integrated within the renewable energy planning process. He frequently contributes to global scientific and policy fora on the topic of biodiversity and energy and is chair of the Technical Working Group of the Convention of Migratory Species’ Energy Task Force.

 

Ryan Bartlett

Director of Climate Resilience and Risk Management

World Wildlife Fund for Nature

 

Ryan directs WWF’s program managing and building resilience to a world of ever-increasing climate risks. He coordinates with our global network of offices and a broad array of stakeholders and partners, from local communities to governments and the private sector, translating climate science to support policy development, planning, and local action in conservation landscapes around the world. Prior to joining WWF, Ryan worked in international water policy and economics for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.

 

Victoria Blessing

Senior Project Manager

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum

 

Victoria Blessing is an expert in innovation, with a focus on social innovation, social enterprises and innovation policy. She is also active in the field of nature-based solutions and nature-based enterprises. In the project NetworkNature+, she leads the work on accelerating the uptake of NBS by businesses, especially SMEs. This includes supporting businesses with tailored information on the business opportunities which nature-based solutions offer, funding opportunities and suitable business models. She works as a senior project manager at the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum in Stuttgart, Germany.

 

Jhon Ccoyo

Tourism Coordinator

Parque de la Papa

 

Jhon is a member of the Community of Amaru, one of the 12 communities belonging to Parque de la Papa (Potato Park), located in the department of Cusco, district of Pisaq. He now serves as the Tourism Coordinator at Parque de la Papa.

 

Phulway Devi

President of the Women's Group

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

 

Phulway Devi is the President of the Women's Group in Kundi village, Jharkhand State, India, showcasing remarkable leadership within the community.

 

David Donnelly

Senior Adviser - Finance for Nature-based Solutions

World Wide Fund for Nature-UK

 

David is finance advisor in the WWF-UK's NbS Accelerator team, under the Climate Solutions Partnership between HSBC, WRI and WWF-UK. The NbS Accelerator aims to help NBS interventions become commercially viable and to secure sustainable long-term financing, by supporting projects directly and by helping build finance sector knowledge and understanding of NbS. Before joining WWF, David had a 25+ year career as a renewable energy and infrastructure project finance expert, before completing an MSc in global environmental and energy economics and policy at UCL during 2020/21.

 

Michael Hands

Founder/Trustee

Inga Foundation

 

Senior Research Associate. University of Cambridge. UK. Director of the four Cambridge Alley-cropping Projects in Central America (1988-2002). Founder/Trustee of Inga Foundation (2007) and Director of the Foundation's Land for Life Program in Central America (2012 – present day).

 

Salman Hussain

Head a.i. Economics of Nature Unit, Ecosystems Division

United Nations Environment Programme

 

Salman Hussain is an environmental economist working for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He joined UNEP is 2014 having previously run a Masters programme at the University of Edinburgh, having completed a PhD in Ecological Economics focusing on the greening of industry. He Is Head a.i. of The Economics of Nature Unit in Ecosystems Division and also the global coordinator of a UNEP-hosted initiative called TEEB (‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’). TEEB aims to the recognize, demonstrate and capture the values of nature, thereby making the economic case for pro-nature scenarios. TEEB has over a dozen country implementations focusing on food systems transformation.

 

Nikita Kumari

Ex-child labourer in mica mines

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

 

Nikita Kumari, ex-child labourer in mica mines, and former Child Council member at Dhab village, Jharkhand State, India, is now a College Graduate. She's currently working with the Kailash Satyarthi Child Friendly programme in Koderma district.

 

Neelam Kumari

Ex-child labourer in mica mines

Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

 

Neelam Kumari, ex-child labourer in mica mines aged 14, is the secretary of the Child Council in Kundi village, Jharkhand State, India, she is currently pursuing Grade 8 at Agarwala Higher Secondary School, Tisri, Giridih.

 

Mami Mizutori

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

 

Ms. Mizutori has been the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction since 2018. She brings to the position a combination of management and leadership expertise as well as more than 25 years of experience in international affairs and security. Previously, she served in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various capacities, including as Budget Director and Director of the United Nations Policy Division. Ms. Mizutori graduated in law from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, and obtained a diploma in international studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain.

 

Chris Moore

Associate

Terranomics

 

Chris is an associate at Terranomics, supporting their mission of mobilising finance and private sector action for nature-based solutions (NbS). A specialist in environmental resource management and sustainable finance, Chris has over five years’ experience in nature finance and global climate standards. At Terranomics, he provides finance landscape expertise, guidance to funds and companies working with NbS and directly develops NbS projects for future financing. Prior to Terranomics, he led development of standards at the Climate Bonds Initiative for multiple sectors.

 

Sir Ben Okri

Poet, Novelist, Artist.

 

 

Ben Okri is a poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, anthologist, aphorist, and playwright. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. He has also received many honorary doctorates for his contribution to Literature. Recently, his Grenfell poem, on Channel Four YouTube, has received more than 6million visits on Facebook.

 

Jeff Opperman

Global Freshwater Lead Scientist

World Wide Fund for Nature

 

Jeff works across the WWF network and with external partners to direct research that can strengthen conservation strategies and to integrate science into freshwater programs and projects. Jeff came to WWF from The Nature Conservancy where he served as the director and lead scientist of the Great Rivers Partnership. His research has been published in journals such as Science, BioScience and Ecological Applications and he is the lead author of the book Floodplains: processes and management for ecosystem services. He holds a Ph.D. in ecosystem science from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Midori Paxton

Director of Nature Hub

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

 

As the Director of UNDP's Nature Hub Midori leads UNDP Nature Pledge for 2030. She is also responsible for the largest portfolio of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management in the UN system, including support for strengthening protected area systems, biodiversity mainstreaming in landscape/seascape and development and sectoral planning, and promoting nature-based solutions. She has grown innovative global programmes including the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) and UNDP’s support for the Task for Nature-Related Financial Disclosure among others.

 

Rosselin Rodríguez

Community Development Specialist for South America

Planeterra

 

Rosselin coordinates and stewards the relationship between Planeterra, community projects, and stakeholders in the region, ensuring smooth operations, that community needs and goals are being met, and acting as the main point of contact for Planeterra on the continent.

 

Stephanie Roe

Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist

World Wide Fund for Nature

 

Dr. Stephanie Roe works with the WWF network and external collaborators to advance the science, leadership and progress on climate mitigation, climate resilience, and nature-based solutions across sectors and disciplines. Prior to WWF, Stephanie was at Climate Focus where she led research on climate and land science and developed and implemented related strategies and initiatives with various governments and NGOs across 20+ countries. Stephanie’s research has been published in leading journals and she is an IPCC Lead Author of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

 

Rosselin Rodríguez

Global Energy Policy Officer

BirdLife International

 

Manoswini is the Global Energy Policy Officer at BirdLife International and works on BirdLife’s agenda of reconciling renewable energy developments with the conservation of birds and biodiversity.

 

Gregory Watson

Principal Specialist, Biodiversity and Natural Capital

Inter-American Development Bank

 

Greg leads the IDB’s Natural Capital Lab program. The Lab works with the IDB Group and partners to drive innovation in natural capital finance and promote biodiversity mainstreaming. ​It incubates, accelerates, and scales new solutions to pressing environmental problems by looking at nature as an asset. Previously, he led the IDB’s first equity investment in oceans, an equity investment in a Macauba silvopastoral system, developed the first Habitat Bank in LAC, supported an asset class for natural capital trading, and structured a $20M Green Climate Fund investment project for forests.

 

Kanni Wignaraja

UN Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

 

Ms. Kanni Wignaraja began her role as UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in 2019. Before, Ms. Wignaraja served as the Acting Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Bureau of Management Services and as Special Adviser to the UNDP Administrator, roles that she performed throughout 2019 after working as the Director of the UN Development Operations Coordination Office from 2014 to 2018. Ms. Wignaraja has over twenty-five years of experience of the UN’s mission and UNDP’s role in the sustainable development agenda.

 

Kaveh Zahedi

Director, Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

 

Mr Kaveh Zahedi is the Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at FAO. He oversees the implementation of FAO’s climate change and biodiversity strategies, partnerships with the climate and biodiversity conventions, coordinates FAO’s Global Environment Facility and GCF portfolios and oversees the Commission on Genetic Resources and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. He previously worked at UNESCAP and UNEP and holds an MA from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a BS in Economics from University College London.

 

Indekhwa Anangwe

Grants Developer and Coordinator

NatureFinance

 

Indekhwa Anangwe is the Grants Developer and Coordinator at NatureFinance, bringing over 14 years of experience in the finance and conservation sector. Prior to joining Nature Finance, Indekhwa served as the Senior Policy & Partnerships Officer for Africa at African Wildlife Foundation. In this role, Indekhwa worked alongside governments, Pan-African Institutions, bilateral and multilateral institutions to advance Africa’s conservation and development agenda.

 

Ruth Andrade

Earth Care Strategy Lead

Lush Cosmetics

 

Born in Brazil's Atlantic Moist Forests, Ruth saw environmental destruction firsthand, sparking her lifelong passion for change. She's a systems activist, focusing on key interventions for transitioning to regenerative cultures. Since 2004, she's co-created Lush's environmental strategy, aspiring to leave the world Lusher. Ruth holds a master's in Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies. She's a trustee and co-founder of Re.Alliance, bringing regenerative design to humanitarian work, and a co-creator of Regenerosity, which channels resources to grassroots regenerative projects.

 

Rachel Biderman

Vice President of the Americas

Conservation International

 

Rachel leads Conservation International’s South and Central American strategies and programs. Previously, Rachel spent nine years leading WRI Brasil, the Brazilian branch of the World Resources Institute, a global research-into-action organization working at the intersection of the environment and human well-being. She most recently served as country director. She has concentrated most of her work in the field of climate change and forests to support collaboration on sustainable development projects in the environment, agriculture, climate change and public policy sectors.

 

Neil Burgess

Chief Scientist

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

 

Neil oversees the scientific and technical work of UNEP-WCMC, to work to develop their profile and collaborations with external partners interested in the conservation of nature, and to promote the role data and analysis plays in effective conservation delivery. He also helps to publish leading scientific work at the science-policy interface, mentors staff in scientific delivery and ensures overall quality and scientific credibility of outputs across UNEP-WCMC. He is also a professor at University of Copenhagen.

 

Dr. Cécile Girardin

Director, Nature Based Insights & Technical Director, Nature Based Solutions Initiative

Nature Based Insights & Nature Based Solutions Initiative, University of Oxford

 

Cécile combines years of experience in climate change policy analysis with a background in tropical ecology and a thorough understanding of forest ecosystem functioning to provide a unique multidisciplinary approach to her work. She is also Technical Director of Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, and an Oxford Martin School Fellow.

 

Georgi Chertkov

Founder

OffsetMap

 

Founder, environmental scientist passionate about data, climate science, agriculture, and carbon markets. Agricultural specialist with a strong background in policy and economic analysis. Interested in leveraging technology in order to help address the global climate crisis.

 

Pei Chi Wong

Senior Research Associate

Global Canopy

 

Pei Chi Wong drives our guidance work for the Deforestation-free Finance initiative. She works with financial institutions and asset managers to help them move towards deforestation-free portfolios.

 

Gemma Corrigan

Head of Policy and ESG Integration

Federated Hermes

 

Gemma leads the policy, advocacy, and integration work within the Responsibility Platform. She is responsible for developing and leading the implementation of the firm’s advocacy and integration programme. Drawing on her public sector experience, Gemma engages with external stakeholders to advocate for industry progress on sustainability issues including climate change, biodiversity, human capital management, and corporate governance. Previously, Gemma worked with the World Economic Forum, the United Nations and the United States Department of State.

 

Tim Cronin

Forests Forward Global Lead

WWF-Australia

 

Tim has worked at the intersection of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development for 20 years. He now leads WWF’s Forests Forward programme, which helps companies harness the power of forests to deliver ambitious environmental, social, and economic outcomes. Prior to this, Tim led programmes on forest sector transformation, threatened species recovery, indigenous-led natural resource governance, illegal logging trade policy, and forest landscape restoration – designing integrated solutions to complex problems that deliver enduring benefits for nature and people.

 

Martin Greijmans

Senior Program Officer

RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests

 

Martin joined RECOFTC in 2011 where he leads initiatives on private sector engagement and enterprising communities. He coordinates participatory research and capacity development initiatives on forest product value chains for community-based enterprise development and community-private sector partnerships. Martin has 28 years’ working experience in program development in the forest product sector in Southeast Asia. From Bangkok he runs activities in the Asia-Pacific region and coordinates teams in RECOFTC’s focal countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam.

 

Marianne Haahr

Nature-related Finance Director

Global Canopy

 

Marianne is Nature-related Finance Director at Global Canopy, where she leads TNFD engagements via pilot testing of the TNFD framework and sector guidance development. Prior she served as Executive Director of the Green Digital Finance Alliance, where she developed publications on tokenised green bonds, alongside other topics, and developed data supply maps for financial service institutions. Marianne has served on the TNFD Informal Technical Expert Group and she has developed input papers to the G-20 Sustainable Finance Working Group and to the UN SG’s Task Force for fintech and SDGs.

 

Margaux Hein

ICRI Consultant

International Coral Reef Initiative

 

Dr. Margaux Hein is a coral reef conservation and restoration specialist and the Lead Consultant of MER Research and Consulting. Originally from the Principality of Monaco, she lived and studied in Australia for over 10 years. Her work focuses on translating science for policy and management, with a special focus on maximising coral reef restoration effectiveness. With projects around the world since 2012, she works with a variety of groups including the United Nations Environmental Programme, the International Coral Reef Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, and the Reef Resilience Network.

 

James Hulse

Forest IQ consultant

Global Canopy

 

James spent 20 years working in the financial markets as a fund manager and trader and now advises investors, banks, companies and civil society on climate change and natural capital.

 

Mark Kenber

Executive Director

Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative

 

Executive Director of VCMI, Mark Kenber has worked for nearly three decades on market-based approaches to environmental protection. Former CEO of The Climate Group, where he launched the Voluntary Carbon Standard, Mark is regarded as one of the leading voices on carbon markets in climate policy. His previous roles include positions at Fundación Natura in Ecuador, WWF’s International Climate Change Program, Mongoose Energy Ltd, and Climate Advisers. He has also served as Climate Change Advisor to the Ecuadorian Government.

 

Dr. Alexandre Köberle

Advanced Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow

Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial Business School

 

Dr Alexandre Köberle is an Advanced Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London focused on long-term scenarios of socio-environmental change, with special focus on nexus approaches to explore transitions to alternative sustainable development futures. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment (CCFI) at Imperial Business School where he leads the Natural Capital research workstream, contributes to climate- and nature-related transition and physical risks.

 

Niamh McCarthy

Director of Orbitas

Climate Advisers

 

Niamh McCarthy is the Director of Climate-Related Risk for Orbitas and has experience across a number of projects at Climate Advisers. She specializes in financial analysis, data analytics, and corporate sustainability policy, with a particular focus in the forestry, food, and land and energy sectors. Niamh has 5 years of corporate finance leadership experience in a diverse range of industries, locations, and disciplines across General Electric energy businesses. Niamh has previous experience at Product (RED), The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and the Irish Institute at Boston College.

 

Louise Nakagawa

Researcher in governance and sustainability

Imaflora

 

Louise is a researcher and consultant in the Agricultural Chains Initiative of Imaflora. Currently, she is working as a researcher and engagement consultant for Beef on Track and Soy on Track Programs. She is also representative of the Environmental Chamber on the Forest Stewardship Council Brasil Board of Directors, and as a researcher at Cebrap Sustentabilidade Group as a part of the the UKRI GCRF Trade, Development and the Environment Hub Project led by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. She has a PhD in energy.

 

Amy Nguyen

Founder

Sustainable & Social

 

Amy is a strategist and researcher focusing on corporate sustainability and global value chains. She is the Founder of Sustainable & Social, a platform dedicated to dissecting climate issues to a millennial audience. Amy works a consultant for a variety of organisations ranging from environmental think tanks and research advisory firms, through to early-stage companies in the energy and fashion space.

Her writing and research have been featured in Forbes, the Times and Sunday Times and the Guardian. She is often invited to speak at prestigious organisations like the Institute of Directors.

 

Michael Obersteiner

Director of the Environmental Change Institute and Professor of Global Change and Sustainability, and Director of the Ecosystems Services and Management Program

University of Oxford, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

 

Professor Michael Obersteiner is the Director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Ecosystems Services and Management Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. His background includes the fields of global terrestrial ecosystems and economics. Under his leadership several national and international organizations, including inter alia the European Commission, WWF, OECD, and other national and international institutions have received science-based policy advice using quantitative modelling techniques.

 

Chris Perceval

Senior Market Engagement Director

S&P Global Sustainable

 

Chris is works with colleagues to shape and accelerate the Net Zero, Nature Positive, Impact Economy agendas. He is Chair of the Nature & Biodiversity workstream of the Future of Sustainability Data Alliance, a member of the Value Commission, and a board member of Scope 3 Climate Capital CIC. Previously he was Head of Business Development for Europe & Developing Markets at S&P Global Sustainable1. Prior to S&P Global, Chris was in senior positions at the World Resources Institute, IUCN, and South Pole.

 

Fabiana Spinelli

TRADE Synthesis and Data Officer

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

 

Fabiana Spinelli is a conservation biologist with 15+ years of experience, from field research to policy development — engaging with stakeholders around the world. This included working with international organizations such as the CBD, UNEP and the CEC. There, she has focused on sustainable use, integrating diverse expertise to identify solutions to the biodiversity crisis. At UNEP-WCMC, Fabiana oversees the synthesis of the Trade, Development and the Environment (TRADE) Hub⁠—a project looking at the socio-environmental impacts of trade in agricultural commodities and wildlife.

 

Emma Thomson

Forest 500 Lead

Global Canopy/b>

 

Emma leads the Forest 500 project, from developing the methodologies to assess the companies and financial institutions with the greatest influence on tropical deforestation, to engaging with those companies and financial institutions. She also leads our technical work on Deforestation-free finance, offering step by step guidance to financial institutions to help them work towards deforestation-free portfolios.

 

Mark Titley

Trase Research Associate

Global Canopy/b>

 

Mark focuses on understanding and communicating the links between global supply chains and deforestation. He holds a PhD in conservation ecology at Durham University, modelling the impacts of land-use change and climate change on global biodiversity.

 

Sophie Van Eetvelt

Business Growth Manager for Nature-based Solutions

Global Canopy

 

Sophie has a Master’s in Environmental Science from the University of Southampton, where she specialised in ecosystem services. She previously worked at the UK Department for International Development, managing climate research and innovation programmes, and then in the humanitarian and disaster risk reduction sector as an innovation manager. Before WWF, she managed an accelerator programme for climate start-ups as part of Imperial College London’s new climate innovation centre ‘Undaunted’.

 

Jason Walters

Director

GlobeScan

 

Jason advises companies and NGOs on sustainability strategy and programs, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector collaboration. He has directed GlobeScan’s shared research programs on Navigating the Nature Agenda and The Climate & Nature Nexus with more than 30 participating companies. Previously, Jason led sustainability initiatives for Pearson and Gap Inc., program development for the Clinton Global Initiative, and business consulting engagements at Deloitte and EY.

 

Mark Wishnie

Chief Sustainability Officer

BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group

 

Mark provides overall leadership on sustainability policy and performance for the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG). Mark previously led the Global Forestry program at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Mark currently serves on the Executive Committee of The Forests Dialogue at Yale University and as an external adviser to the Climate-smart Forest Economy Program of the Good Energies Foundation and to the Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy at Chatham House.

 

Pratya Youngpatana

Program Officer

RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests

 

Pratya Youngpatana is Program Officer at RECOFTC. He joined RECOFTC in 2011 where he coordinates RECOFTC participatory research activities. He assists capacity development initiatives to support community-based enterprise development and community-private partnerships in collaboration with RECOFTC’s country teams at the landscape level. Pratya has 12 years’ working experience on multi-stakeholder facilitation, participatory community forest management and capacity development in Thailand and ASEAN countries.