The Role of Advisory Committees in enhancing FSC-values across diverse contexts
The side meeting, organized jointly by the Advisory Committees of FSC Africa and FSC Ukraine, aims to explore the role of Advisory Committees (ACs) in advancing FSC’s values on a global scale. The session will address the challenges and potential advantages of expanding ACs in diverse contexts, drawing from the experiences of Ukraine, where the AC was established in response to multiple challenges. The Africa’s AC operates in a context marked by political and economic challenges, hence striving to balance sustainable forestry with social and economic realities across different countries. It will therefore provide a platform to reflect on both, the role and achievements of existing ACs in Africa and Ukraine, the challenges in establishing ACs and their potential added value for FSC’s global strategy.
Through a series of case studies, and interactive discussions, the meeting will highlight the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned in one country as compared to Africa’s regional context. Discussions will also cover strategies to strengthen the role of ACs within FSC’s governance structure and global strategy, and provide strategic insights and recommendations for FSC’s future approach to ACs. It will also include insights into local community involvement in FSC certification processes and culminate in recommendations for enhancing the influence of ACs in future FSC policies. This collaborative meeting aims to foster knowledge exchange and contribute to the development of FSC’s strategic framework.
Godwin Kowero
Prof Kowero is a renowned forest economist, researcher, and opinion leader. He has a background in academia and research and a is well-respected scholar on forest governance and policy matters in Africa and internationally. After a decades’s stint as CIFOR’s Regional Director in East and Southern Africa, he became the founder Executive Secretary of the African Forest Forum in 2008 and ran it for for 15 years before retiring in 2024.
Marine Elbakidze, Advisory Committee of FSC Ukraine
Marine Elbakidze is an Associate Professor of Geography and Deputy Head of the Advisory Committee of FSC Ukraine. She has conducted extensive research on the impact of FSC certification on forest biodiversity conservation across diverse ecological and socio-economic contexts. Her work integrates interdisciplinary approaches to forest governance, sustainability, and conservation, contributing to policy development and best practices for responsible forest management. She collaborates internationally to advance inclusive and science-based solutions for resilient forest landscapes.
Prudence Galega
Ms Galega has a legal background (LLB (MB) Option: English Private Law), and has been an active participant among the African Group of Negotiators in UN Climate Change and Biodiversity Framework Conventions. Prior to that she has been a Judge in Cameroon and a Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment. She also has a vast experience in the aspects of forestry and environmental governance issues and facilitated several forest governance learning and advocacy platforms for more than two decades, mostly in the Congo Basin.
Sergiy Zibtsev, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine
Professor at the Department of Silviculture of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine. Head of the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center (REEFMC). The REEFMC is associated to the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and serving at the interface between fire science and landscape fire management by conducting training, facilitating inter-agency, multi-stakeholder and cross-boundary dialogue.
Fulbright Scholar at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (2004-2005). Laureate, Green Star Award 2013 of the Green Cross International (GCI), the UN-OCHA and UNEP. Awarded by Parliament of Ukraine “For serving to Ukrainian Nation”.
Prof. Zibtsev is an international expert in the ecology of radiation and UXO contaminated forests and has been working many years with all aspects of the problem of landscape fire management, coordinating wildfire science projects and development of landscape fire policy in Ukraine. Since 2018 worked on development of the development of the regional integrated fire management systems. Since 24.02.2022 after full scale military aggression of Russian Federation against Ukraine “Landscape Fires Advisory Bulletin” published regularly on REEFMC web-site. Involved in projects of OSCE on Environmental Impact Assessment on fire regimes of Russian-Ukrainian war.
Event Details
- Friday, 31 October
- Time: 14:30 - 16:00 (EST - Panama) / 20:30 - 22:00 (CET) / 03:30 - 05:00 (WITA)