Empowering Smallholders to enter into the Mainstream Global Natural Rubber FSC Market
85% of all natural rubber world-wide is produced by smallholders. There is a general perception in the market that FSC is too difficult and expensive for smallholders to embrace and has led to <5% of the total rubber area being FSC certified. Today there are initiatives afoot in various geographies that has shown that smallholder certification can be simple, affordable and thus scalable at national level. By engaging across many countries, the smallholder in rubber industry can be empowered to trade the bulk of their product in the mainstream compliance market. Furthermore, a strong agroforestry approach will bring significant advantages when backed by payment for ecosystem services approach.
Alejandro Carvalho, AmSpec Group
Alejandro Carvalho, LATAM Director for Renewable Energy & Sustainability at AmSpec Group, brings 36+ years of global experience in sustainability, renewable energy, and certification across agriculture, forestry, and supply chains. A recognized lead auditor and trainer in FSC, RWS, BONSUCRO, RTRS, GlobalG.A.P., ISCC, and EUDR compliance, he has worked in 20+ countries. Alejandro drives large-scale decarbonization, regenerative agriculture, and compliance projects, blending deep technical expertise with commercial insight to deliver impactful, practical solutions.
Sean Nyquist, FSC
Sean Nyquist is Acting Programme Manager of Value Chain Development (VCD) at FSC International, where he leads a team focused on driving uptake of FSC across forest value chains in solid wood, fibre, and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). In his previous role as VCD Manager, he focused solely on uptake in NTFP value chains, primarily natural rubber. With over a decade of experience in sustainability, consulting, R&D, and manufacturing, Sean holds an MBA from ESMT Berlin and a BS in Chemical Engineering.
Michal Brink, CMO
Dr. Michal Brink, CEO of CMO, holds a PhD in Forestry, an MBA from South Africa, and a US-earned master’s degree. An extraordinary part-time professor in forest sciences at the University of Pretoria, he has led global forest-certification units at SGS and worked across 80+ countries. For over two decades, Michal has driven CMO’s international growth as a consultant, trainer, and visionary—building a diverse executive team to expand CMO’s sustainable forestry impact worldwide.
Event Details
- Thursday, 30 October
Time: 08:30 - 10:00 (EST - Panama) / 14:30 - 16:00 (CET) / 21:30 - 23:00 (WITA)