Climate change is increasingly presenting new challenges in the form of erratic and extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, floods, and storms resulting in higher temperatures. As the world transitions to a low-carbon economy and recognizes the realities of climate change, there is an increasing need to develop pathways for sustainable growth, climate change mitigation, and climate resilience. Forest landscapes have a critical role to play in supporting these paths and sustainable development strategies around the world.
Indufor acknowledges the cross-cutting nature of climate change and integrates it into our service areas for public sector, private sector, and nonprofit clients, with a particular focus on forest landscapes, agriculture, and coastal resource management. We have extensive experience working on climate issues across Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
We assist public sector and nonprofit clients in the following areas:
- Strategic and policy analyses, e.g., assessment of climate finance flows, sustainable forest management frameworks, impacts of proposed policies
- Implementing large programs to address drivers of deforestation
- Developing Reference Levels and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for REDD+ and other forest programs at the national and sub-national levels
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning of donor-funded initiatives on forests, climate, and sustainable land use
We also assist corporate and investor clients in the following areas:
- Due diligence and monitoring of investments incorporating climate risks, impacts, and mitigation measures
- Carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment, including of carbon stock and sequestration potential for forest projects
- Carbon market opportunity analysis
- Project conceptualization for forest carbon projects
- Managing climate risks and opportunities, including catastrophic loss
- Supplier risk assessments, e.g. for land tenure risk or zero-deforestation sourcing
- Development of climate strategy and sustainable sourcing policy
- Development of low-emissions business models
- Monitoring landscapes to deliver forest/climate commitments
- Building strategic communication strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Indufor provides services in all aspects and phases of REDD+ development. We have over a decade of experience working with REDD+ covering Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Climate change is increasingly presenting new challenges in the form of erratic and extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, floods, and storms as a result of higher temperatures. Indufor provides services on climate change adaptation that deliver solutions on how both people and ecosystems can adapt to climate change.
Area Experts
Mr Arttu Pienimäki holds a master's degree in forestry from the University of Helsinki (2014). He specializes in tropical silviculture, plantation forestry, climate change and forest carbon. He has worked several years in East Africa with topics related to the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in forestry, design and implementation of forest inventories and other forest sector surveys, forest carbon stock assessments, plantation establishment operations, and the project cycle management. Arttu is an experienced data analyst and a hands-on field expert, with considerable experience in overseeing and participating in field measurement campaigns. His native language is Finnish, and he is fluent in English with competent skills in Swedish and German.
Jeffrey Hatcher is the Managing Director of Indufor North America, which provides sustainability and investment consulting services to public and private clients. He previously served as Director of Global Programs for the Rights and Resources Group where he led analytical projects on forest tenure policies, climate change, and investment risks. He began his career at the FAO Emergency and Land Tenure services in Sudan supporting the implementation of the land policy provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and land restitution for internally displaced people. He holds an MBA with a focus on finance from INSEAD, an MA in Development Studies from the University of Pavia, and a BA in International Relations from the College of William and Mary.
Blair Freeman, Head of Strategy and Sustainability with Indufor Asia Pacific (Australia), holds a Bachelor of Forest Science degree from the University of Melbourne and a Masters of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Blair has over 20 years of experience in providing advisory services on forest policy, strategic planning, natural resource management and sustainable development, across Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
As project director and project manager, Blair has led a range of complex multi-disciplinary projects, including strategic reviews and program reviews relating to forest industry development, conservation and natural resources management. These projects have encompassed extensive stakeholder consultation and the provision of consulting advice to public and private sector clients, at executive and senior government levels.
With 20 years’ management experience, Pete Watt leads the resource monitoring team, with overall responsibility for business strategy, growth and development. His expertise includes operational use of remotely sensed data for resource management, with a focus on monitoring land use cover and productivity at local and national scales. He is proficient in the use of GIS and remote sensing as applied to resource management and has been involved in significant projects throughout Oceania, Asia and South America. Pete is constantly monitoring technological advances in satellite imagery and data capture to ensure Indufor continues to lead the way in resource monitoring. He received his PhD and MSc (Distinction) in forest monitoring from Durham University, England (2005), and his BForSc from Canterbury University, New Zealand (1993).
Dr Sepul Kanti Barua has 15 years of professional experience in consulting, international development and research in climate change, environment, including forests and other natural resources, energy, agriculture and agro-commodities, trade and process industries. He holds Doctor of Science degree in Forest and Climate Change Economics from the University of Helsinki 2012 and was visiting doctoral scholar of environmental economics at Yale University, USA, in 2011. He has worked across Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. His work covers sustainability, climate change solutions such as carbon capture in forests, renewable energy, REDD+ for private companies and investors investment planning, green economy, and economic modelling, especially in the forest and environment sectors. He has an in-depth understanding of the broader global sustainability, climate and development agenda. Dr Barua has authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, scientific monographs and technical/scientific reports, working papers, and numerous project reports.
He is fluent in English, Bengali, Chittagonian and has fair proficiency in Finnish.