Thorsten Arndt, Head of Advocacy, PEFC International

Thorsten has been working with PEFC International for the past 15 years, seeing it grow from smallholder-initiated forest certification system to the world’s leading organization promoting sustainable forest management.

PEFC certifies more than 300 million hectares of forests globally and is represented in more than 50 countries around the world. The important role of PEFC in safeguarding the world’s forest is globally recognized, with PEFC being selected as an official indicator by the United Nations for achieving Target 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 15).

Mr Arndt is also a public speaker and pro bono leader of Toastmasters International, having won several local, national and regional public speaking contests.

Françoise Van de Ven, President, ATIBT (International Technical Association of Tropical Timber) 

Vast experience in the forest-timber sector, In business management as well as in national associations, before her election as President of ATIBT.  During her nearly 20 years in Belgium and 25 years in Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon), she built up an extensive international network and her knowledge of the countries of the Congo Basin, make her a contact person for stakeholders.

Member of the FAO Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries.

Regan Pairojmahakij, Lead Climate Change Programme, RECOFTC 

Regan oversees the Climate Change programme at RECOFTC. In addition to climate change, her work focuses on developing a portfolio of landscape initiatives in RECOFTC’s seven focal countries which employ a forest landscape approach to achieve social and ecological outcomes at scale. Climate mitigation and resilience are the threads pulling together this landscape level work. These focus on opportunities for market based solutions such as through carbon projects, bankable Nature based Solutions, a community forest based approach to climate change adaptation and the piloting of key indicators and landscape level monitoring approaches.

Sara Bray, Senior Policy Manager, Australian Forest Products Association

Sara Bray serves as the Senior Policy Manager at the Australian Forest Products Association, bringing over a decade of experience in government policy at the national, state, and local levels. She has held roles with both Federal and State Ministers for Agriculture, where she developed expertise in shaping policies that intersect with environmental and agricultural priorities. Prior to her policy work, Sara was a commercial lawyer, having graduated from the University of Adelaide with honours in Law and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies.

Raised in regional Australia, Sara is a committed advocate for sustainable, practical solutions to climate change. She is passionate about forestry as a viable option for both farmers and policymakers, highlighting its potential to deliver commercial and environmental benefits.

Adriano Scarpa, Climate Change Manager, Brazilian Tree Industry

Climate Change Manager at Ibá - Brazilian Tree Industry. Adriano has been working for over 12 years in the field of climate change and sustainability. He has experience in carbon markets, climate finance, mitigation and adaptation, public policies, and international negotiations on the topic, including UNFCCC and Carbon Markets. 

Ibá (Brazilian Tree Industry) is the association that represents the planted tree production chain in Brazil, from the fields to the industries. Ibá has around 50 member companies which manufacture nearly 5,000 biodegradable and recyclable products from planted trees, such as pulp, paper, packaging, wood flooring and panels, charcoal, and also innovative products, as biofuels, textiles and may other new uses in different industries.