Collaborative forestry training & forestry consulting
Vision
To provide world-class training in good governance and management relating to the use of natural and human resources
Mission
Improve natural and human resources management through high quality, responsive and participatory educational, training and capacity building programmes responding to the needs of different organisations working on natural resources management.
Core values
The ASTRAcademy programme is committed to quality, responsiveness, participation, and transparency in the development and implementation of its activities relating to natural and human resources management.
The concern for the forests of the world and the passionate drive to play a significant role in improving the management of forests and other natural resources, as well as the livelihood of all people that use natural resources is dhe main driving foce behind ASTRAcademy.
The people and supporing organizations behind ASTRA
Liviu Amariei, Head of the Accreditation Business Unit of FSC International in FSC's early years (operating today as ASI), was born in Romania, but has lived in several countries during his forestry career. These include Austria, Mexico and Italy, where he is currently living. Liviu has a masters degree in forest engineering from the Bodenkultur University of Vienna, and post graduate studies in international relations at the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University. He is a qualified FSC Lead Auditor, both at accreditation and certification level, and an Auditor Trainer for FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody, ISO 19011 and RSB. Liviu has worked on certification since 1999, with extensive experience relating to different standards, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the IUCN Green List and others.
Liviu is an experienced Lead Auditor in the key areas of FSC and RSB auditing work: accreditation and certification, with 18 years of auditing experience, in addition to expertise in other areas related to certification such as institutional development, standard setting and certification market development. As consultant, training developer and trainer Liviu has been working with several FSC-accredited certification bodies (SGS, ICILA, Certiquality, Woodmark/Soil Association, LGA/TÜV Rheinland, TÜV Süd, TÜV Nord, SCS, DINCERTCO, and other certification bodies ), as well as many other institutions such as the Universities of Padova and Viterbo in Italy, international aid agencies like USAID, GIZ, companies like Ahlstrom, Vicarello, Asia Pulp and Paper, NGOs like WWF, the FSC International Centre, WWF, IUCN, UEBT, Pi Environmental Consulting, Leading Standards, ProForest and many others.
You can reach Liviu at liviu@astracademy.net
Zelda worked over the last 25 years in various positions at different levels in both small and large company environments. Zelda is in charge of Admin at ASTRAcademy. She has high standard communication skills and is keen on participating actively in the development of the ASTRAcademy services offer.
You can reach Zelda at zelda@astracademy.net
External technical support
IT Support for webhosting from Gardenroute.com, webdesign the maintenance of the ASTRA e-learning platform: Handmade Connections, George, South Africa, web: handmade.co.za
Collaborations on training and consultancy:
ETIFOR is a Padova University spin-off specialized in CSR-centred consultancy, project development, research and training services in the forestry and environmental sectors.
ETIFOR delivers training services in forest certification (forest management, chain of custody, trademark use, controlled wood) in co-operation with qualified national and international partners and in partnership with FSC Italy. Training activities build on robust trainers’ professional experience and aim to help consultants, companies and auditors approaching forest certification challenges and successfully deal with them. www.etifor.com/en
Nucleus is an organization offering consultancy and training services in South America. It offers its services through a newtwork of professionals engaged in the management of natural resources.
You can reach Nucleus by e-mail or via its website
Anita Smulders is a forestry engineer from the Universidad Austral de Chile, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a diploma in Management of Indigenous Policies and Interculturality from the Universidad del Desarrollo de Chile.
She has more than 20 years of experience in forest certification and sustainable development, working in private companies and as an independent consultant. Since 2012. She is a lead auditor for FSC Forest Management. She has worked implementing chain of custody systems, controlled wood, forest management, and conducting training courses on FSC issues.
Anita has specialized in the identification, management, and monitoring of high conservation values in different ecosystems of South America.
Dr. Fabiano Luiz da Silva has been working in the area of social and environmental sustainability for more than 13 years. He collaborated with large forestry companies, small farmers and community developmented organizations and gained experience in certification programs with Societé Génerale de Surveillance - SGS. He has audited and consulted in several global sustainability programs relating to forestry, soy, sugar cane, palm, livestock, cotton as well as family agriculture, among others. He is also a professor on MBA programs relating to sustainability issues in rural areas.
Fabiano has a degree in Administration of Cooperatives and in Biology. He holds a PhD in Forestry Science from Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Brazil. He is a Brazlian national and speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.
You can reach Fabiano at fabiano@smcnucleus.com.br
