Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms – Leveraging REDD+ Payments Through Environmental Funds
Hours: 15:00-16:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Aristides Muhate

Position: MRV Coordinator, FNDS

Aristides Muhate has 17 years of experience in the forest sector both with the Government and private sector, working in law enforcement, monitoring and evaluation, data analysis and data management, operations management, project design, management and coordination. He started his career in 2004 as a technician in the Forest Department at the National Directorate of Forest and Wildlife, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and then also served as the Provincial Head of Department of Forest and Wildlife in the Forestry Services in Nampula until 2007. In 2008 he started his journey on REDD+ in the private sector until 2013. In 2014 he rejoined the Government working on the design and implementation of REDD+ projects. He is currently coordinating the MRV Unit and supporting other FNDS projects. Aristides has a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Pretoria and honors in forest engineering from Eduardo Mondlane University. His passion is data science, quality management and systems thinking and analysis.

Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms – Leveraging REDD+ Payments Through Environmental Funds
Hours: 15:00-16:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Franka Braun

Position: Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist, World Bank

Franka Braun, is a Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist at the World Bank who is working on land use, forestry and blue economy programs in Mozambique. At her previous positing in Bogotá, she was focusing on initiatives promoting sustainable land use and reducing deforestation in Colombia and Mexico. Prior to this she worked at Natsource Asset Management, where she developed and managed carbon finance projects around the world, and served as the company’s specialist for forestry transactions.

Franka holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the Free University of Berlin and the Institut d’Etude Politique (IEP), and a master’s degree in Economic Policy and International Energy Policy Management from Columbia University.

Topic: Closing Session
Hours: 16:00-16.30 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Friday, October 08, 2021
Panelist: Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Position: GEF Executive Director and President

Lawyer by profession, politician by choice, and conservationist at heart, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez was elected as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility by its governing body, the GEF Council, in June 2020.

The former Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister was a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration, ocean conservation, and de-carbonization, and is an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy, multilateral environmental negotiations, and financing for nature conservation. During his three terms as Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica doubled the size of its forests, made its electric sector 100 percent clean and renewable, and consolidated a National Park System that has positioned the Central American country as a prime ecotourism destination.

Rodriguez has held various technical and political positions over the past 30 years. In the early 1990s, he worked as Director of Costa Rica’s National Parks Service and is also founder and board member of many environmental NGOs and tropical research institutes. Since the 1992 UN Sustainable Development Summit in Rio, he has participated in all multilateral environmental negotiations, as an expert negotiator in UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD, and participated in negotiations for the creation and implementation of the GEF and the Green Climate Fund.  After his second tenure as Minister, he was Vice-President for Global Policy at Conservation International, for 12 years, working in 30 tropical countries in Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Topic: Formal Opening Session
Hours: 10:10 – 10:30 (Mozambique time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06th, 2021
Panelist: Ivete Joaquim Maibaze

Position: Minister of Land and Environment, Mozambique

Ivete Joaquim Maibaze, Master in Environmental Education from the University of Johannesburg (2009) and with a Degree in Education Science from the Rand Afrikaanse University in South Africa (2003). Between 1998 and 2004, she was a technician in the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action.

She worked as a technician at the Sustainable Development Center for Natural Resources CDS-RN in Chimoio, in the Training and Outreach Department.

In 2008 she served the National Directorate of Planning and Studies, Department of Planning, in the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action, as a technician.

In 2009 she was a technician at the National Directorate for Environmental Promotion in the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action.

She was advisor to the Minister for the Coordination of Environmental Action between 2009 and 2012.

Between 2012 and 2015 she was the National Director for Environmental Promotion in the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action.

Between 2015 and 2020 she worked as National Director for the Environment in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development.

In 2020, she was sworn in as Minister of Land and Environment.

Topic: Moment of Conservation Histories: The Conservation System in Mozambique
Hours: 10:45 – 11:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06th, 2021
Panelist: Armindo Araman
Position: Director of Conservation Services and Community Development, ANAC

Armindo Araman is Director of Conservation and Community Development Services at the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) – the organization that oversees the Conservation Areas of Mozambique.
Armindo Araman is also Director of Operations for Conservation Areas; he has a Degree in Nature Conservation from Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa and has been working in the field of Biodiversity Conservation since 1991, and is currently based in Maputo.

Topic: Essential CTF Functions –Defining Conservation Impact
Hours: 11:25 – 13:00 (Mozambique Time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Charlotte Karibuhoye Said

Position: Director of the West Africa programme for the MAVA Foundation

Charlotte Karibuhoye Said is Head of Strategic Alliances and Director of the West Africa programme for the MAVA Foundation. Charlotte is responsible for implementing MAVA’s strategy for West Africa, overseeing all projects and partner relations in the region, and managing the MAVA regional office in Dakar. She is also in charge of coordinating the development of collaborations and partnerships with other donors. Together with the other Programme Directors and the Director General, she also jointly manages MAVA’s overall project portfolio, including the global projects. Before joining MAVA in 2014, Charlotte worked with FIBA (Fondation internationale du Banc d’Arguin) as the marine protected area programme coordinator and oversaw among others the establishment of the first regional network of marine protected areas in West Africa. A doctor of veterinary medicine, Charlotte also holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in conservation biology from the University of Goettingen, Germany.

Topic: New Funding Opportunities
Hours: 14:00 – 14:30 (Mozambique)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: James Lewis

Position: Ecologist, Rainforest Trust

Hooked on wildlife conservation when growing up in Africa, James has spent his career focusing on strategic approaches to addressing conservation challenges.
Born in the U.K. but raised on three continents, James has firsthand experience in various conservation areas. Although originally a field ecologist, James has spent time working on many domestic and international conservation topics, trade/policy issues, development of on the ground conservation projects, and national conservation responses.
During James’ time at Rainforest Trust, the organization has grown from providing approximately U.S.$4 million in grants per year to over U.S. $50 million. These funds have helped with the establishment of 203 protected areas across 53 countries. As Vice President of Conservation at Rainforest Trust, James is driving the implementation of a new strategy to allocate $500 million to permanently protecting critical habitats across the tropics for species, communities, and our planet.
Before joining Rainforest Trust, James worked as the operations director for the Amphibian Survival Alliance, helping to build the world’s largest partnership dedicated to amphibian conservation. James has also worked for several other International NGOs, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, and Re: Wild.

Topic: New Funding Opportunities
Hours: 14:00 – 14:30 (Mozambique)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Andrea Athanas

Position: Senior Director Busines Engagement and Europe

Andrea Athanas, is responsible for AWF’s programmatic work with business. She is passionate about finding pathways for societies to transition to sustainable growth using biodiversity-based business as a driver for achieving a better future through innovations such as impact investing and social enterprise. Andrea has experience working with the businesses in the extractives, agricultural, and tourism sectors, as well as working on landscape scale conservation and development in Africa and is part of the cadre of people creating the new generation of business models which have at their core a regenerative relationship with nature and society. Some of her early work with IUCN focused on sustainable financing for protected areas and most recently she has returned to this in her work with African Protected Area Directors and the African Protected Areas Congress organizing committee to shape out A Pan-African Conservation Trust as a concept for securing sufficient and steady flows of funding for all of Africa’s 8,600 protected and conserved areas.

Topic: Project BRIDGE – presentation/next steps
Hours: 14:30-15:00 (Mozambique time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: María Luisa Hernández

Position: Coordinator at the Forever Costa Rica Association

María Luisa Hernández is the RedLAC and Development Coordinator at the Forever Costa Rica Association. She is a Fulbright Scholarship recipient and has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration focused on Leadership of Nonprofit and International Organizations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, New York. She has more than 13 years experience working in international organizations, private companies and NGOs, such as Bayer, the United Nations Mandated University for Peace, and the Organization of American States (OAS). She has taught courses on social innovation and strategic planning and facilitated workshops on leadership and conflict resolution for nonprofitorganizations. María Luisa has undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and International Politics, is passionate about public participation, sustainable development and nature, and is fluent in Spanish, English, German, Portuguese and Italian.

Topic: Essential CTF Functions – Communication as a powerful tool for conservation
Hours: 15:00-16:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Paulina Cerna

Position: Communication Specialist at FMCN

Paulina Cerna, has worked as a Communication Specialist at the Mexican Fund for Nature Conservation since 2018. She studied Environmental Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and has an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London.

Topic: The role of Conservation Trust Funds in times of crisis: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on biodiversity conservation in Africa
Hours: 11:45-12:45 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021
Panelist: John Adendorff

Position: Conservation Manager

John Adendorff, took up a junior conservation position in Addo Elephant National Park in 1991. Over the 28 years, John was actively involved in the management and expansion of Addo Elephant Nation Park. He progressed through all the ranks and was eventually promoted to a Conservation Manager position. Serving three National Parks and also advising in the Garden Route National Park. John also managed the Bird Island marine protected area within the Addo Elephant National Park for 13 years.

Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms
Hours: 16:00-17:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Joris van Pul

Position: Consultant, Wolfs Company

Joris van Pul, works as a Conservation Finance and Strategy Consultant at Wolfs Company.  Joris works to define strategies and (financial) planning for (and together with) Nature Protected Areas (ZNPs), Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs), local governments and NGOs with the ultimate goal of ensuring long-term – and effective – nature conservation. In addition, Joris’ consulting experience includes identifying and analyzing new and innovative funding opportunities for protected area sites.

Joris is an experienced management consultant with an interdisciplinary background (Bsc. degree Science, Business and Innovation degree from VU University in Amsterdam, and Msc. degree Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology from Bocconi University in Milan). This background allows Joris to combine an understanding of scientific knowledge and complexities on the one hand, with finance, economics, and organizational management on the other

Topic: Essential CTF Functions – Avoiding Trouble: A Scaled Approach to an Environmental and Social Risk Management System (ESMS) for use by Conservation Trust Funds
Hours: 16:00-17:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Kathy Mikitin

Position: Author

Kathy Mikitin was the principle author of the Issues and Options paper which in 1994 launched the concept of Conservation Trust Funds as institutions created to support financial sustainability for biodiversity conservation. She is also co-author of the original Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds that were issued in 2014. During her 30-Year career in the World Bank she designed development projects in the education, transportation, power and environmental sectors and contributed to the launch of the Global Environment Facility. She influenced change within the World Bank by developing policies and procedures for mainstreaming GEF operations in Bank projects and, as a member of the Internal Auditing Department, by reviewing the Bank’s vast portfolio of trust fund sourced grants.  After leaving the Bank, Kathy was able to resume what she is most passionate about: promoting and supporting Conservation Trust Funds.

 

Over the past 12 years, Kathy has worked with more than twenty CTFs in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. She has assisted Boards of both very mature and nascent Environmental Funds to improve their governing documents, organize for efficiency and effectiveness, adopt governance norms and best practices to operate capably and in compliance with laws and internal regulations. This was done through transfer of knowledge sessions, board self-assessments, institutional evaluations, cross-cutting studies and work with donors and national design committees to arrive at legally sound and nationally appropriate governance structures and frameworks. Kathy has also worked with Conservation Trust Fund chief executives and mid-level managers to put in place the management tools required to be effective executors of their Board’s strategic and operating decisions.

Topic: CAFÉ members
Hours: 11:00-11:30 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021
Panelist: Fenosoa S. Andriamahenina

Position: Executive Secretary of the BioGuiné Foundation

Painelista: David Meyers

Fenosoa Andriamahenina is the Executive Secretary of the BioGuiné Foundation, a UK registered Environmental Foundation operating in Guinea Bissau. Before joining his current position, he was Executive Director of the Tany Meva Environmental Foundation in Madagascar for 12 years, and Entrepreneurship Trainer for an ILO / UNDP project-Madagascar.

Among the founders of CAFE, he was the first elected president of the network and is currently on its executive committee. He is member of various groups/networks: CFA (Conservation Finance Alliance), Wetlands International Advisory Group-West Africa Region, ICCA (Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas and territories) Consortium, Scientific and Consultative Committee of Ambatovy Project/Madagascar…

He graduated from Senghor University in Alexandria, Egypt-Master degree in development studies, specialized in Project Management.

Topic 1: The role of Conservation Trust Funds in times of crisis: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on biodiversity conservation in Africa
Hours: 11:45-12:45 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Topic 2: Innovative Financing Mechanisms – Leveraging REDD+ Payments Through Environmental Funds
Hours: 15:00-16:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Topic 3: Innovative Financing Mechanisms
Hours: 16:00-17:00 (Mozambique Time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Sean Nazerali
Position: Director for Innovative Financing

Painelista: David Meyers

Sean Nazerali is Director for Innovative Financing – BIOFUND (Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity), and Natural Resource Management specialist with 25 years of experience in international development, of which the last 18 years in Mozambique. He is the co-author of the Feasibility Study on Sustainable Financing of Conservation Areas in Mozambique, and the author of, amongst others, the current Financial Plan for the country’s protected area network. He contributed regularly to the development of the new Conservation Law and Regulations in Mozambique. He has been instrumental in bringing the concept of biodiversity offsets to Mozambique, leading the design of a Roadmap for the country. He has also assisted the Ministry to elaborate the national Forest Investment Plan to reform the forest sector and reduce deforestation in the country via the use of REDD+ funds. He has been involved with BIOFUND since before its creation, facilitating its foundation in 2011. He is currently Director of Innovative.

Topic: Moment of Conservation Histories: Synergies between Academy and Biodiversity Conservation
Hours: 10:00 – 10:10 (Mozambique time)
Day:  Thursday, October 07, 2021
Panelist: Jorge Ferrão
Position:Vice-Dean of Maputo Pedagogic University

Jorge Ferrão, is the Vice-Dean of Maputo Pedagogic University and a Member of BIOFUND Board of Directors since 2017. Throughout his career, he has undertaken different positions and management roles such as Director of Studies Office and SADC culture and information sector projects, where he later undertook the office of Regional Coordinator of Southern Africa Communication for Development in Zimbabwe. Between 2015 and 2016 he was the Minister of Education and Human Development.

As a teacher he taught the subject of Management of Ecosystems for Master’s course at Eduardo Mondlane University and at Mweka African College of Wildlife Management, in Tanzania, between 2005 and 2008.

Ferrão was the Regional Coordinator of Grande Limpopo Cross-border Park (2003 to 2005), and Advisor to the Minister of Tourism for protected areas related issues and their privatization.

From 2009 to 2014 Jorge Ferrão participated in several Management Boards, in service committees, in temporary or permanent representations, in regional or international organizations such as Southern Africa Regional Universities Association – “SARUA” and Association of Universities in Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (AULP).

Topic: Formal Opening Session
Hours: 10:10 – 10:30 (Mozambique time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021
Panelist: Narciso Matos
Position: Chairman of the Board of Directors

Narciso Matos is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Biodiversity Conservation Foundation – BIOFUND. He holds a Doctorate in Chemistry (Humboldt University), Germany. He is the former Dean of Eduardo Mondlane University – UEM and at the same time, Member of the Assembly of the Republic (1990 – 1995).

Narciso, played a role at African Universities Association as a Secretary General. Between 2000 and 2007 he was the Head of International Development Program for Carnegie Foundation in New York. From 2007 to 2014 he was the Executive Director of Community Development Foundation. Narciso has also undertaken the office of Dean of Universidade Politécnica since 2017, where he was the Pro-Dean for Institutional Development.

Currently he is the Chairman for Social Policy and Governance in Africa, and a University Foundation Member for Development and Education.

Topic: Essential CTF Functions –Defining Conservation Impact

Hours: 11:25 – 13:00 (Mozambique Time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Camila Monteiro

Position: Manager, Terranomics

Camila Monteiro is a Business Administrator by training, she started her career working in marketing functions for multinational companies in Brazil and Spain, including Microsoft and Schlumberger. She has 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating sustainable financial mechanisms for conservation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. She, spent a decade at Funbio, the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund, one of the world’s largest Conservation Trust Funds. During this time, she led international projects through RedLAC, the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Fund Network, and the Conservation Finance Alliance, focused on knowledge and innovation of financial mechanisms for conservation.

Throughout her career, Camila has worked in more than 25 countries and is passionate about multicultural exchanges as a way of learning. Camila is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English

She has led the development of several national and regional funding programs, mobilizing international resources for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Her work has focused on supporting trust funds, NGOs and the public sector to design tools and adopt practices to leverage private finance in their conservation portfolios. Camila has also been a Kinship Fellow, a market-based conservation leadership training program, where she focused on blended finance solutions in the Brazilian Amazon.

Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms – The Potential of Biodiversity Offsets in Africa

Hours: 11:25 – 13:00 (Mozambique Time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Alain Liva Raharijaona

Position: Executive Director, Foundation For Protected Areas And Biodiversity Of Madagascar

Alain Liva Raharijaona, is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity in Madagascar since November 2019.   Alain, holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne (France) and a postgraduate diploma in Management from the University of Paris IX- Dauphine. From 2007 to 2019, he was Economic Advisor at the Embassy of Madagascar in Brussels. In the public sector, he was Non-Permanent Advisor to the Ministry of Commerce, responsible for international trade negotiations, and Non-Permanent Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, responsible for relations with the private sector.

Alain, held various responsibilities in the private sector: President and CEO of industrial companies (Hydrauma and Feroflex) for 18 years, Coordinator of the Integrated Trade Framework Project (UNDP/World Bank/WTO), Director of FIVMPAMA, International Vice President of the Francophone Business Forum, Vice President of the Syndicat des Industries de Madagascar (SIM).  From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Board of Directors of FAPBM and Chairman of the Investment Committee.

Topic: Project BRIDGE – presentation/next steps

Hours: 14:30-15:00 (Mozambique Time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Karen Price

Position: President, Consortium of African Funds For The Environment (CAFÉ)

Karen Price is the President of the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment (CAFÉ), a membership based network of conservation trusts funds across Africa and an alliance championing sustainable and innovative conservation finance in Africa through capacity building initiaves. Karen is also the Coordinator of the Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust (MEET) and an expert in the field of grant and project management in the environment and natural resource management sector. Karen is a Chevening Scholar from the University of Edinburgh, with a Master of Sciense Degree in Environment and Development. She is Chairperson of BASEflow Malawi, an organization that seeks to improve the sustainability of groundwater sources in Malawi and she’s also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Centre of Environmental Policy (CEPA), an organization that conducts research and advocacy on environmental and natural resource management policy and legislation. Karen is currently based in Malawi.

Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms – The Potential of Biodiversity Offsets in Africa

Hours: 11:25 – 13:00 (Mozambique Time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Fabien Quetier

Position: Ecologist at BIOTOPE, Member of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management

Fabien Quetier is an ecologist and senior consultant at BIOTOPE, a consulting firm. After graduate training in agronomy and rural development, Fabien obtained a PhD that studied the vulnerability of ecosystem services and their beneficiaries to land use changes in traditional agricultural landscapes in Europe, in the context of changing agricultural and rural development policies and market drivers.

Fabien at BIOTOPE advises clients, private and public decision-makers, on implementing the mitigation hierarchy (to avoid, minimize and offset impacts) to projects and programs, designing and leading the preparation of successful biodiversity studies (including Critical Habitat and High Conservation Value assessments), biodiversity action plans, and mitigation and offset management plans. Beyond complex conservation-development trade-offs, this requires addressing the technical, economic, legal, and institutional challenges of conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services. Among these, Fabien has developed specific expertise in innovative financing mechanisms and the use of conservation trust funds. He is actively involved in the COMBO program and the use of such funds for biodiversity offsets. Fabien is a member of the IUCN commission on ecosystem management and is co-chair of that commission’s thematic group on impact mitigation and compensation.

Topic: Project BRIDGE – presentation/next steps

Hours: 14:30-15:00 (Mozambique time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Constance Corbier

Position: Agricultural engineer

Agricultural engineer, Constance Corbier – Barthaux first worked for various development aid organisations, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and then as a representative for international Affairs at the French Ministry of the Environment. She joined the French Development Agency (AFD) in 2000 and participated, as a project officer, in the development of the portifolio of development projects based on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and then, as an evaluator in charge of this theme, in the evaluations and capitalization of the AFD’s environmental projects. Late 2014, she joined the Secretariat of the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) as Project Officer in charge of conservation and sustainable use of marine and terrestrial biodiversity projects and capacity – building initiaves for civil society organizations ‘’of the South’’ working on the environment and sustainable development, commonly known as the ‘’ Small – scales Initiaves’’ Program (PPI).

Topic: Promoting biodiversity conservation in Gorongosa National Park

Hours: 12:45-13:00 (Mozambique time)

Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Panelist: Larissa Sousa

Position: Associate Director of Communications, Gorongosa National Park

Larissa Sousa, 30 years old, works for Gorongosa National Park. For the past 4 years she has been honored to be a part of this integrated project to help change the lives of many women and girls around the buffer zone, as well as raise awareness about conservation in general. This is being done by implementing after-school programs such as Girls Clubs and working with girls between the ages of 10-16 years old in the communities with the objectives of keeping girls in schools, avoiding early marriages and improving their life skills to ensure they have the tools they need to face the world.

Recently she joined the Communications team and is very happy to be able to continue contributing to women’s empowerment by giving them a voice this way, and she is very passionate about the work she do with both human development and communications towards conservation efforts of this beautiful National Park and the country.

She is very fortunate to have an excellent and diverse educational background which led her to where she is today. She is an E-MBA graduate (Africa University in Zimbabwe) and trained in International Business Management and Controlling (Finland & Germany), her secondary education was done under the Cambridge curriculum in Mozambique

Prior to joining the Park she worked in different places, in Germany at Daimler-Benz as the contact person for the PLS (Production Learning System) in Germany and Brazil (1yr). In Mozambique, she worked as a Location Manager for the American Demining company called The HALO Trust (2yrs) and as a school administrator in Njerenje Chimoio (2 yrs).

She believe that we are so blessed with all the world has to offer, but not everyone has the same opportunities and that’s where each one of us can play a part. Now more than ever we have to work together as one to create solutions to the continuously emerging issues on climate change.

Topic: Innovative Financing Mechanisms

Hours: 16:00-17:00 (Mozambique time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Amílcar Guzman

Position: Consultant, Wolfs Company

Função: Director Executivo da Aliança de Finanças para a Conservação

As a partner in Wolfs Company, Amílcar provides conservation finance advice to the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations, Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) and protected area managers in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. His background combines nature conservation, environmental economics, stakeholder engagement and strategic planning.

Amílcar is one of the lead authors of the latest 10-year review of CTFs and the 2020 expansion of the Practice Standards for CTFs of the Conservation Finance Alliance. His experience with CTFs also includes resource mobilization advice to The MedFund and ongoing collaboration with Forever Costa Rica and the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, among others.

In the field of marine conservation finance, he currently leads the assessment of financial gaps for Costa Rica to achieve 30% of marine protection and he is a sustainable finance advisor of a learning network of more than 30 marine protected areas in the Caribbean.

His previous experience includes assistance to BIOFIN Belize to monitor national investments in biodiversity, ecosystem service valuation studies to support conservation initiatives in Costa Rica, Ghana and the Cayman Islands, and applied research to inform large-scale private conservation in Chile.

Topic: CAFÉ members updates

Hours: 10:10 – 10:40 (Mozambique time)

Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: Romain Renoux

Position: Coordinator and Manager of the first environmental trust fund of Mediterranean MPAs.

Romain Renoux was for several years committed to ocean conservation as former manager of Marine Protected Areas and former president of the French Marine Protected Areas’ Managers Network.

Engaged in innovative financial mechanisms’ development, he joined the Principality of Monaco 4 years ago to coordinate and manage the first environmental trust fund dedicated to Mediterranean MPAs. This initiative was launched in 2015 by the Principality of Monaco, France, Tunisia with the support of the Foundation of Prince Albert II.

Topic 1: Practice Standards for Conservation Trust Funds
Hours: 15:10 – 16:30 (Mozambique time)
Day: Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Topic 2: Innovative Financing Mechanisms
Hours: 16:00-17:00 (Mozambique time)
Day: Thursday, October 07, 2021

Panelist: David Meyers

Position: Executive Director of the Conservation Finance Alliance

David Meyers is the Executive Director of the Conservation Finance Alliance.  He is an environmental finance expert and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in sustainability, business strategy and management, environmental economics, international conservation and development, environmental impact assessment, training, education and research in ecology and evolution. From 2012 until 2018, David was a Sr. Technical Advisor for the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN/UNDP). David has launched and managed various companies including a financial services company providing online marketplaces for impact investing and environmental assets, a triple-bottom-line bamboo-flooring manufacturer in Madagascar, and a technology incubator. At the CFA David has led the creation of the CFA Incubator and the Investment Plan for the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.  David has spent well over a decade in Madagascar and has worked in 47 countries. In Madagascar, he helped the country plan and execute a doubling of the area under conservation, including establishing the Makira Natural Park 370,000 hectare protected area using REDD+ financing. He holds a Doctorate in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.