GLOBAL LEADERSHIP FOR AMAZON CONSERVATION (PLENARY)
December 1st, 2022 at 11:00am ET
How are leaders around the world working to advance forest conservation? Join this panel to hear stories ranging from personal to governmental, philanthropic to corporate, and more. How can one person make a difference for the Amazon? How could a coalition of nations?
Virgilio Viana
Amazon Sustainability Foundation
Virgilio Viana is one of Brazil’s leading experts on forestry, environment and sustainable development. He served as Brazil’s Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development from 2003-2008 and is currently the Director General of the Amazonas Sustainability Foundation (FAS), an organization charged with the challenge of implementing the Bolsa Floresta Program, as well as providing the institutional framework to market environmental services of Amazonas’ forests. The Foundation For Amazon Sustainability (FAS) is a non-profit civil society organization operating in the Amazon. With no political party links, it provides social assistance for vulnerable populations. It is an institution that promotes regional development through research, development and innovation activities.
Vedis Vik
Norway International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)
The Norwegian government supports global efforts to reduce destruction of tropical forests. It aims to halt greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. Norway’s international Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) leads these efforts from the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. Norad manages significant parts of the funds under the climate and forest initiative on behalf of the ministry. Norway has pledged up to 3 billion NOK a year to help save the world’s tropical forests while improving the livelihoods of those who live off, in, and near the forests.
Gillian Caldwell
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Gillian serves as the Chief Climate Officer and is responsible for directing and overseeing all climate and environment work across the agency. She also serves as Deputy Assistant Administrator, overseeing DDI’s Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure and the Office of Environmental and Social Risk Management. Ms. Caldwell has worked to protect human rights and the environment throughout her career. Prior to joining USAID, she served as the CEO of Global Witness, which has a focus on tackling climate change and deploys investigations into corruption and natural resource extraction to drive systems change worldwide. From 2007-2010, she launched and led 1Sky, a highly collaborative cross-sector campaign with over 600 allied organizations to pass legislation in the U.S. to address the climate crisis. Gillian also has extensive experience consulting in the areas of strategic planning and organizational development with over 70 non-profits, foundations, and universities. Ms. Caldwell has a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University, where she was recognized as a Public Interest Law Scholar. She has received a series of awards recognizing her work as a leading global Social Entrepreneur.
Walter Vergara
World Resources Institute / Initiative 20×20
Walter Vergara is a climate specialist with long-standing interests in a variety of adaptation and mitigation topics. As a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, Mr. Vergara directs the 20×20 initiative a country-led land restoration effort aimed at substantially contributing to a reduction in the carbon footprint of land use and land use change activities in the Latin America and Caribbean region and capture additional benefits. He also acted as a senior adviser to the Director of UNEP-DTU for purposes of preparation of the Zero Carbon Study. Prior to joining WRI, Mr. Vergara retired from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) where he was the Division Chief for Climate Change and Sustainability. Before that and during 25 years Mr. Vergara was at the World Bank where his last post was as leader of the Global Expert Team on Climate Change. Mr. Vergara organized and led the first climate change team in Latin America, at the World Bank. During his career Mr. Vergara has authored or co-authored 14 books and numerous technical articles. He was a review editor in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. Mr. Vergara is a Chemical Engineer by training with degrees from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Cornell University.
David Kaimowitz
Tenure Facility
David is Chief Program Officer at the Tenure Facility. Prior to the Tenure Facility, he served as a manager at the Forest and Farm Facility, a Senior Advisor to the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) and senior consultant to the Latin American Regional Office of the FAO. He previously directed the Ford Foundation’s global work on natural resources and climate change and served as Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). He has also worked at the International Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), and the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Reform (MIDINRA) in Nicaragua. David holds a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Madison – Wisconsin, and has authored or co-authored over 150 publications about rural issues. The Tenure Facility works with Indigenous Peoples and local communities across the developing world so they can thrive, and expand the sustainable management and protection of their forests and lands.
Jojo Mehta
Stop Ecocide International
Jojo Mehta co-founded Stop Ecocide in 2017, alongside barrister and legal pioneer the late Polly Higgins, to support the establishment of ecocide as a crime at the International Criminal Court. As Co-Founder, Executive Director and key spokesperson of Stop Ecocide International, Jojo has overseen the remarkable growth of the movement while coordinating between legal developments, diplomatic traction and public narrative. She is convenor of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide chaired by Philippe Sands QC and Dior Fall Sow. The core work to make ecocide an international crime at the international criminal court, is supported and progressed by a large network of over 45 teams and associate groups globally. There are over 50 thousand endorsing signatories across civil society and faith groups, and a growing number of endorsing businesses and organizations.
