Un nouveau chapitre dans l’histoire de GFC : Bienvenue à notre nouveau directeur des politiques

Avril 2023

Chers membres, alliés, amis, collègues et sympathisants de la Global Forest Coalition (GFC) : nous vous écrivons aujourd’hui pour vous annoncer que nous avons un nouveau directeur politique, Wolfgang Kuhlmann. Bienvenue !

Wolfgang, anciennement membre du conseil d’administration de la Coalition, apporte plus de 20 ans d’expérience en matière de politique forestière et de plaidoyer. Il rejoint le CFG dans ce rôle stratégique clé suite au départ de la cofondatrice et directrice de longue date de la Coalition, Simone Lovera, qui a démissionné plus tôt cette année pour relever de nouveaux défis professionnels.

Au nom du personnel et des membres de la GFC, nous souhaitons exprimer notre sincère gratitude à Simone pour ses années de travail acharné et de dévouement qui ont fait de la GFC la force qu’elle est aujourd’hui, et nous lui souhaitons tout le succès possible dans ses nouvelles entreprises. Pour ce qui est de l’avenir, nous accueillons chaleureusement Wolfgang en tant que nouveau directeur politique. En toute solidarité, notre lutte collective continue.

Continuer en anglais…

 

A message from GFC Policy Director Wolfgang Kuhlmann:

“I’m very happy that I’ve been given the opportunity to support the work of GFC as the new policy director. Over the years, I’ve been following GFC’s activities closely, and it was very inspiring to cooperate with several of its members in campaigns and projects.

Having studied biology, I have worked extensively on many forest policy issues for more than 20 years. This includes exposing false solutions to climate change, such as REDD+, carbon trading, so-called nature-based solutions or land grabbing for timber plantations.

In 2005, I was appointed as director of the German NGO ARA and have since been an active partner in NGO networks at the national level (in Germany), at the European as well as international levels, closely following the intergovernmental negotiations on climate, forests and biodiversity. In 2020, I joined the Board of the Global Forest Coalition.

Additionally, I have worked as a consultant on issues related to forest policy and development aid for the Environmental Paper Network, a research institute of the German protestant church and a newly established bio-economy think tank.

Fundraising for ARA’s campaigns, as well as projects developed in cooperation with local partners, has been an important part of my old job – and I regard it as one of the main tasks in my new role.

I’m looking forward to being part of this coalition – and I hope I can do my share to make it even better.”

 

A message from GFC co-founder and former director Simone Lovera:

 

“I remember that

 when I went on my first maternity leave, some 28 years ago, I was actually a bit disappointed to realise that I was not indispensable in my work. The world’s environmental movement turned out to be perfectly capable of keeping up the fight without me. So when I took the difficult decision to accept another job, because I felt both the Global Forest Coalition and I needed a change after 17 long years, there was one thing I did not doubt: that I wouldn’t be indispensable. Because the Global Forest Coalition was always meant to be a coalition, not a few individuals.

In these past decades, it has grown into an amazing worldwide movement of literally thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists who all share the vision of a world where communities truly live in harmony with forests and other ecosystems. A vision of a world where the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and women in all their diversity form the basis of forest conservation, and not the greenwashing tactics of a few greedy corporate actors.

I am fully confident that the wonderful member groups and fantastic team that form the Global Forest Coalition will keep up the struggle for a more just and beautiful planet. And no matter where or what my job is, I will always remain part of that movement. La lucha sigue.”

24 avr., 2023
Posted in Actualités, 2Media