2024 FSC Amazon Business Encounter

What is it about?

The FSC Amazon Business Encounter 2024 is 4th edition in a series of events that FSC organizes to support sustainable trade within the tropical timber value chain. Other examples are the FSC Asia Business Encounter, the Carrefour du Bois (Nantes) Business Encounter and the FSC Amazon Business Encounter 2023. The concept of the business encounter brings together professionals along the tropical timber value chain and gives the opportunity to discuss global supply chain challenges, whilst building and maintaining relationships between supplier and buyers.

The first FSC Amazon Business Encounter was held in 2023 in Belem, Brazil. During this event FSC gathered 130 different stakeholders of the Amazonian wood supply chain. This year, the event will cover a range of important topics, including:

FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR
Developments around exporting regulations: CITES implementation Brazil
Tropical timber market update
Business Matchmaking Session

Who should attend?

We are inviting professionals engaged in the tropical timber and wood product trade between Brazil and the EU, including forest managers, sawmills, traders, importers, manufacturers, and end-users, consultants, and industry organizations. We aim to welcome up to 150 participants, so please register as soon as possible. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis with a limit of 2 participants per institution.

Background

If Europe had sourced 100% verified sustainable tropical timber products, it would have positively impacted over 16 million hectares of semi-natural and natural tropical forests and significantly reduced CO2 emissions in 2020. This finding comes from an extensive study by the Probos Foundation, which also highlighted that only 31 – 36% of Europe's tropical timber imports in 2021 came from sustainably managed forests.

The Amazon Basin spans a whopping area of 6.7 million square kilometers (about twice the size of India) in South America, with nearly 60% of the rainforest located in Brazil and the remainder distributed among eight other countries. A wide range of policies, strategies, laws, and regulations have been developed to facilitate forest governance and achieve sustainable forest management.

Recently, Brazil announced plans to establish new forest concessions strategically aimed at enhancing sustainable forest management practices and conserving biodiversity. “Concessionary rights are one of our best tools to protect Brazilian forests from deforestation and to safeguard social rights. That is why the Brazilian Forest Agency is planning to grow the current 1,6 million hectares of concessions to 5 million in the coming 5 years.” - said Renato Rosenberg, Director of Concessions, in 2023.

In addition to state forest concessions, privately owned forest management units play a crucial role in the sustainable management of the Amazon rainforest. As of July 2024, 9.53 million hectares of natural and planted forests in Brazil had been certified under the FSC certification system.

Brazil is the world’s second-largest exporter of tropical logs and the third-largest exporter of tropical sawn wood, with Europe being a key export market for these products. In 2020, the EU27+UK imported 150 tonnes of logs, 196,200 tonnes of sawn wood, 4,000 tonnes of plywood and 200 tonnes of veneers. This makes Europe, together with the US and China, one of Brazil’s top three export partners.

The market requirements in the EU and UK, shaped by consumer environmental awareness, green public procurement policies, industry norms, and regulations like EUDR and CSDR, present both new opportunities and challenges for those involved in the production, trade, and utilization of tropical wood products.

As noted earlier, a vast area of forest needs protection from illegal logging, poaching and land conversion. Simultaneously, local governments, NGO's and forest management organizations are making great efforts to enforce environmental laws, empower indigenous peoples and ensure safe work conditions. Sustainable trade with the EU and the demand for FSC certified products supports these efforts.

Event program

8:00 – 9:00 – Coffee and registration

Part 1: Seminar and panel discussion

9:00 – 10:30 - Presentations

Welcoming word & introduction of the event
Elson Fernandes de Lima, Executive Director, FSC Brazil
FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR
Joanna Nowakowska, System Performance Director, FSC IC
Developments around exporting regulations: CITES implementation Brazil
Allan Jordani, Environmental Analyst, IBAMA
Tropical timber market update
Essio Lanfredi, Northern Regional Representative, APEX Brazil

10:30 – 11:00 - Coffee break

11:00 – 12:30 – Panel discussion + Q&A
Panel discussion: supporting sustainable trade

Moderated by Leonardo Sobral, Forestry Director, Imaflora
Aldir Schmitt, Director, Alecrim
Evandro Muhlbauer, Forest Engineer, Madeflona
Arjen de Jong, Director, GWW Hout Import

12:30 – 14:00 – Lunch (time to prepare the meeting room for matchmaking)

Part 2: Business Matchmaking & Networking

14:00 – 16:45 – Business Matchmaking session

16:45 – 17:00 – Closing speech

17:00 – 18:00 – Cocktail and network session

Speakers

Elson Fernandes de Lima, Diretor Executivo FSC Brasil

Elson Fernandes de Lima is a dedicated project manager with expertise in sustainability, ecology, biodiversity conservation, and geographic information systems. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Ecology, driven by a deep-rooted passion for the natural world, influenced by his upbringing in a family of small-scale farmers in São Paulo.

Elson’s career is marked by his extensive knowledge of certification systems and compliance mechanisms, helping companies achieve their ESG goals. His professional activities include managing people and resources, client prospecting, project development, leading assessments, and representing his company in various forums. His passion lies in creating positive impacts on stakeholders and transforming the world through his work.

Joanna Nowakowska, System Performance Director

Forest Stewardship Council International (Bonn)

Essio Lanfredi, Northern regional representative apexBrasil

Essio Lanfredi is an Industrial Mechanical Engineer, graduated from the Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (FEI-SP). He holds postgraduate degrees in Foreign Trade (UFPE/PE), Irrigation (UNEB/BA), and Planning (UFAM/AM). He worked for 10 years in the petrochemical industry (Ultragaz-SP/BA), where he specialized in the areas of quality and production. He was an agricultural entrepreneur in irrigated fruit farming for export and a lecturer at SENAI (PE). He worked for 3 years at the Amazon Protection System (SIPAM-AM), and since 2009, he has been working at Apex-Brasil, currently serving as the Agency's representative for the Northern Region of Brazil, based in Belém-PA.

Leonardo Martin Sobral, Forest Director Imaflora

Forest Engineer graduated from UNESP / Botucatu, with an MBA in Project Management from FGV. He has 25 years of experience in forest management, certification, and restoration. As the Forest Director at Imaflora, he leads the Forest Legality Initiative, the H2A Agro-environmental Hub (a forest restoration initiative), and Imaflora’s forest carbon area. He is the leader of the Concessions Task Force of the Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition, a member of the Steering Council of the Forest Dialogue, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Tropical Forest Institute.

Evando José Muhlbauer, Forest Engineer Madeflona

Graduated in Forest Engineering in 2005, Evandro has been based in the Western Amazon, working for the past 20 years in the timber production sector, with a focus on sustainable forest management in the Amazon. He has 16 years of experience in managing corporate forest concessions under federal contracts in Brazil.

Evandro has gained extensive experience in managing large-scale forestry enterprises in the Amazon region. He developed strategies that established a forest management model for MADEFLONA, the first forest concessionaire in Brazil, located in the state of Rondônia.

He became a member of the advisory councils for the Jamari National Forest and Jacundá National Forest.

Evandro has specialized in "best practices" for forestry in the Amazon. For him, the Amazon is the world's greatest natural treasure, and the implementation of sustainable enterprises is crucial for the preservation and conservation of the forest.

Aldir Schmitt, Director Alecrim

Aldir Schmitt is the director and owner of the companies that make up the Alecrim and Algimi Florestal Group, and has been working in the forestry sector for around 30 years. He is the founder of Indústria Alecrim, created in 1994 and specialized in processing roundwood, and co-founder of Algimi Florestal in 2006, dedicated to the industrialization of wood products.

Throughout his career, Aldir has always sought to grow companies with a focus on quality and sustainability. With extensive experience, he has become a reference in the western region of Pará, in the activities of drying and manufacturing wooden floors. His activities also extend to the trade of native wood from the Amazon, both in the domestic and export markets, always prioritizing practices that respect the environment.

Arjen de Jong, Director GWW Houtimport and GWW Agency

Arjan de Jong has a long history of working in the timber industry and is currently the director of GWW Houtimport, a company dedicated to providing sustainably produced wood for the civil engineering sector since its inception in 1999.

Over the years GWW Houtimport has become a trusted supplier for professional end-users, known for its commitment to reliability, transparency, and adherence to agreements.

He is also director of GWW Agency, this company, started in 2021, specializes in importing full containers that are delivered directly from the port to the customers.

Arjan is a strong advocate for sustainability, ensuring that the company’s values align with those of its suppliers. This is put into practice through clear and open communication about its procurement policy and investment in long-standing relations with its suppliers.

Contact

If you have any questions regarding this event, please feel free to contact Elson Fernandes (FSC Brazil) at e.lima@br.fsc.org, or Tijmen Hennekes (FSC Netherlands) at t.hennekes@nl.fsc.org or Gao Ya at y.gao@fsc.org (FSC International).