SUSTAINABLE WILD HARVESTING AND NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
December 6th, 11:00 AM ET
Those new to the Amazon might not understand what wild harvesting is, and may not be familiar with non-timber forest products (NTFP). Others want assurances that what they sell to their customers really is benefiting Amazon ecosystems and communities. Wild harvesting and non-timber forest product management are important strategies for IPLC’s to build strong, sustainable local economies and with the right assurance systems in place, buyers can develop trust around the social and environmental sustainability of their sourcing practices.
Luiz Antonio Brasi
Origens Brasil / ImaFlora
Luiz is the coordinator of the Origens Brasil network at Imaflora, involving 35 companies, 70 support institutions, and 40 indigenous ethnic groups located in 5 member territories of the network. His work includes coordination of socio-environmental projects in the Amazon, engaging the business sector in the Origens Brasil network, and developing strategies for socio=biodiversity value chains. Luiz also coordinates the network guarantee system: Ethical trade, traceability and transparency. He earned a bachelor’s degree from USP and a masters degree from ESCAS.
Samantha Morrissey
Rainforest Alliance
At Rainforest Alliance (RA), Samantha works across teams to bring together and implement the vision of people and nature thriving in harmony within the forest products sector. She is responsible for facilitating the co-creation of the organization’s sector strategy in forests, ensuring its successful implementation and working with the private sector to form partnership which serve RA’s mission of using social market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. Her background is in supply chain advisory and auditing. Samantha lives in the Green Mountains of Vermont, the United States.
Johann Schneider
Coopavam
Johann Schneider has 25+ years of experience in international trade and marketing, export promotion, market access strategy and strategic planning, market research SME business and entrepreneurial development, tourism, with special focus on sustainable value chains, sociobiodiversity, NFTP – Non Forest Timber Products and fairtrade. He designed and led the implementation of business and project management methodologies and tools, as well as several large development programs and projects for MSME support organizations, mostly in Brazil. Mr. Schneider has also worked on international development projects, for organizations such as USAID and the UN, mainly in luso- and francophone Africa. Besides having designed and delivered many ToT – Trainings of Trainers and ToC – consultants, he has also teaches university courses on graduate level in the fields of marketing and business development in several renowned Brazilian universities and is a certified trainer for MSI Entrepreneurial Development Program and Institutional Development Framework and of the International Trade Center – ITC/WTO, for their Market Analysis Section. Mr. Schneider authored strategic guide books for the staff of Brazilian MSME support organization – Sebrae on how to deliver support services in the fields of market access, international trade promotion and fair trade.
Andre Skaf
BeBrasil / Amazonia Care
Andre is the CEO of BeBrasil, a company born with the mission to spread happiness and optimistic lifestyles that only Brazil has, through our cosmetics and body care brands. The company seeks to deliver high quality products and a complete experience for its customers to be healthier and happier every day.
Andrea Abrams
Louisa Abrams Chocolate
Andrea Abram is a co-founder of Luisa Abram Chocolates, a family business focused on making chocolate exclusively with wild cocoa collected and fermented by riverside communities from the Amazon rainforest, in Brazil. Andrea previously worked for KPMG and as an attorney for Lefosse Advogados. She earned her law degree from the Catholic University of Sao Paulo.
Carina Pimenta
Conexsus
Carina Pimenta is the Executive Director at Conexsus and is currently developing the Conexsus Impact Fund within the Lab. The instrument creates a business platform that can develop a variety of financial products tailored to specific communities and enterprises, addressing the gap in the way small-scale farms and forest-dwellers in Brazil access available financing. Carina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Fundação Getúlio Vargas and a MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex.
