Global Conservation Standard Oversight Organization - Global Conservation Standard Administrator
http://www.conservationstandard.org

Germany (Offenburg)

Michael V. Galante is an international forestry professional specializing in the development and implementation of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through the utilization of internationally agreed International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Principles and Criteria (P&C) primarily through production based controls involving Reduced Impact Logging (RIL), forestry certification and ecosystem service incentive mechanisms (including carbon).

Michael is the Administrator to the Oversight Organization of the Global Conservation Standard (GCS) where he is responsible for technical management and coordination of GCS activities.

Michael advises intergovernmental, organizations, governments, private companies and NGOs on forestry and forest management issues including climate change mitigation through forestry activities. Michael has recently been appointed to the Advisory Board of the FSC Carbon Working Group (FCWG) in May 2010 and has been on the UNFCCC CDM Afforestation / Reforestation Roster of Experts for Methodologies since 2005.

Michael holds a Masters Degree in Tropical Forestry Resource Management and is pursuing his Ph.D at the University of Edinburgh on the topic of “Adding Carbon Revenues to Increase the Utilization of Reduced Impact Logging in the Forest Management Units of Sabah, Malaysia: An Econometric Enhanced Approach”. Michael is currently based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia.