Plenary 1
Moderator: Frances Seymour
Senior Fellow, Centre for Global Development
Frances Seymour is the Chair of the Oslo REDD Exchange Program Committee and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC. From 2006 to 2012, she served as Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). She previously held positions at World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC, and early in her career was a Ford Foundation Program Officer in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Joenia B Carvalho (Wapichana)
Coordinator of the Legal Department, Roraima Indigenous Council in Brazil
Joenia Batista de Carvalho is the Coordinator of the Legal Department of the Indigenous Council of Roraima in Brazil. As such, she has worked on key indigenous rights issues, and was the first indigenous person to argue a case in front of Brazil's Supreme Court. That case, Raposa Serra do Sol, remains an emblematic case in Brazil today. Joenia has conducted training workshops for indigenous leaders and monitors on indigenous rights and REDD+ safeguards. She has also worked on the policy level to ensure that indigenous rights and participation are included in decision-making.
Minister Shiferaw Teklemariam
Minister, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Ethiopia
Dr. Shiferaw Teklemariam is the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change in Ethiopia. Dr. Shiferaw studied Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and graduated with an MPH in 2000. He also obtained an MBA in Organizational Leadership from Asuza Pacific University, California, USA in 2006. Dr. Shiferaw won a seat in the federal parliament in the May 2010 and 2015 national election. Following the formation of new government of 2015 he was appointed as Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change. He is also cabinet Minister since 2008.
Nazir Foead
Head, Peat Restoration Agency
Nazir Foead was appointed to lead the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG RI) in January 2016 where he is responsible for the restoration actions of 2 million hectares of Indonesia’s peatland within five years. Prior to this, Nazir joined Climate and Land Use Alliance as the Indonesia Initiative Coordinator in February 2014, to direct grants and support for Indonesia’s CSOs. He was the Conservation Director of WWF Indonesia from 2010 before joining the Alliance. Trained as forester and conservation biologist, he spent his earlier professional career from late 1980s in the interior of Kalimantan, Maluku and Papua running biodiversity assessment, learning from and interacting with the indigenous peoples as well as running investigations illegal logging.
Pablo Viera Samper (TBC)
Vice Minister, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Colombia
Pablo Vieira is the Vice Minister at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Colombia.
In line with Colombia’s commitment to green growth, Dr. Vieira has dedicated much of his recent time to leading the development of ambitious programs to counter deforestation. Forest conservation and sustainable use and results-based payments within the framework of REDD+ are among his top priorities.
Paula Caballero
Senior Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank Group
Prior to joining the World Bank in July 2014 as Senior Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, Paula Caballero, was the Director for Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. She was a leading voice and negotiator in international fora, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Post 2015 framework. She is widely acknowledged as the lead proponent of the Sustainable Development Goals. She was awarded a Zayed International Prize for the Environment in 2014 for her contribution to “environmental action leading to positive change”. Earlier in her career she has worked with UNDP, NGO, academia, media, and the private sector, so she brings a varied perspective to her current role.