General Superintendent
, Sustainable Amazon Foundation, Brazil
Profile / Bio:
Professional career divided in four different tracks: academia, government, non-profit organizations and international institutions. Below are some highlights.
In academia,
- professional forester (ESALQ/University of São Paulo)
- Masters and PhD in evolutionary and organismic biology from Harvard
- Post-doctoral work at the University of Florida, Yale
- Tenured professor at ESALQ/University of São Paulo
- Visiting professor and researcher at various institutions, including at Yale and Santa Barbara/UCSB and IIED
In government,
- First State Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas, the Brazilian State with the largest forest cover (1.5 million km2). During this period, Amazonas State enacted the first climate change law in Brazil and led to the reduction of deforestation rate by more than 70% and increased protected areas by more than 12 million hectares.
In the non-profit sector,
- Chair of Brazil´s consultative process for the creation of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
- Founder and president at IMAFLORA and participated in the creation of IPÊ, FUNBIO, Instituto Terra and IDESAM
- Since 2008, CEO of Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), an institution which has grown to be the largest Brazilian NGO based in the Amazon and was elected the best NGO of the region for 2017 (Epoca/FGV). FAS is responsible for the implementation of one of the largest program of payments for ecosystem services (PES) in the world. This REDD+ program (Bolsa Floresta) benefits over 570 local communities, 9,000 families, and 10 million hectares of Amazonian rainforest.
In international organizations,
- Co-chair of UN´s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), as well as chair of SDSN-Amazon
- Member of the International Advisory Board of ESPA Program
- Member of the Task Force on Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development, Interamerican Development Bank
- Member of the Special Committee on Ethics and Action for Sustainable Development, Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican
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