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ABOUT US

OUR MISSION

Bringing people together to develop forest economies that support resilient forests and thriving local economies.

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OUR PURPOSE

CSFEP helps Global South regions develop regional forest product industries that support forests, local prosperity, and climate adaptation and mitigation.

OUR IMPACT

CSFEP’s work is designed to achieve two long-term impacts: 

Resilient Forests 

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Local communities and forest managers have the resources to adapt their forests to climate change through improved management, restoration, and reforestation. 

Healthy, Green Economies

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Thriving sustainable forest economies, and the many local business ventures within them, will provide livelihoods and support communities, creating benefits for people, landscapes, and the climate. 

OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL

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Jamie Lawrence

Co-Founder, Xilva

 

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Syakaa William

Nature-based Solutions Portfolio Lead, Axum

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Philipp Misselwitz 

Co-CEO, Bauhaus Earth

 

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Daniel  Zimmer

Sustainable Land Use Lead, Climate-KIC

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Devang Vussonji

Founding Partner, Axum

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OUR TEAM

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Robyn van

den Heuvel

iI

Program Director

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Nelly

Kimathi

Program Associate

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Katie Baldassar

Partnerships Director

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Charlotte Baylis

Communications

Lead

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Bongiwe Shongwe

East Africa Program Manager

WHAT MAKES CSFEP UNIQUE? WE:

Put forests first

Take a holistic approach

Work in the Global South

Connect local and global experts

Focus on implementation, rather than theory

OUR APPROACH

CSFEP works at the LOCAL level to support regional coalitions in the Global South that build climate smart forest economies–while sharing learnings for GLOBAL impact. 

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CSFEP is currently building out its full network model, which has 3 elements: 

1

 A clear GOVERNANCE structure that  provides guidance, vision, and leadership
—and ensures standards are upheld 

2

SUPPORT from staff and advisory board members tasked with stewarding the coalitions and learning community

3

ACTION spaces where coalitions and learning community members can work together on ambitious initiatives
 

OUR STORY: A LEARNING JOURNEY

Although we are a young organisation, we have already been through many phases.

 

At each stage, we consider what we have learned—and how we can utilise this learning to grow, change, and amplify our impact.

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So in 2020, with backing from the Good Energies Foundation, a coalition that included the World Resources Institute, The Nature Conservancy, the World Economic Forum, and EIT Climate-KIC set out on a three-year journey to test their hypothesis.

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Our story begins in 2019, when several global nonprofits began asking:    

Can forest product industries, such as biobased construction, be used to fund improved forest management?  

CSFEP’s founders thought the answer was “yes"
but only if there was a deeper connection between forest products industries and their source forests.  

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OUR STRUCTURE

CSFEP is a fiscally-sponsored program of Dalberg Catalyst, a U.S.-based 501(c)3. Dalberg Catalyst provides accounting; human resources; grants management services; legal and fiscal oversight; and critical thought partnership and connections to CSFEP. This support ensures CSFEP staff can focus on mission fulfilment while simultaneously ensuring legal and fiscal compliance.        

Meanwhile, direct programmatic oversight is provided by CSFEP’s Advisory Council, a small team experts in the regenerative forest economy space who meet monthly to provide direction to the CSFEP Program Director.

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