About — curriculum & practice

Forestry engineer, anthropologist, and spatial modeller working on nature‑based climate solutions.

I explore complex land-use problems across palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and forestry. I am an expert in carbon certification for voluntary markets (VCS, CCB, GS) and Scope 3 (GHG Protocol, SBTi), with AFOLU project experience — REDD+, ARR, ALM, IFM — across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

01 / Practice area Carbon Development & Operations Methodology, MRV, registration, verification 02 / Practice area Social Safeguards & Community FPIC, theory of change, community monitoring
REDD+ ARR ALM IFM VCS CCB Gold Standard GHG Protocol SBTi
01 — Snapshot

A profile at a glance.

Four lenses on the same work — what I trained in, what I’m curious about, what I can do, and where I’ve been doing it.

fig. 01 — profile overview 
graph LR
  P((Andrés))
  P --> Q[Qualifications]
  P --> I[Interests]
  P --> S[Skills]
  P --> X[Experience]

  Q --> Q1["Forestry Engineer
+ Anthropologist"]
  Q --> Q2["M.Sc. Geospatial Modelling"]

  I --> I1["Quantitative forestry"]
  I --> I2["GIS & spatial modelling"]
  I --> I3["Nature Climate Solutions"]

  S --> S1["Problem-solving"]
  S --> S2["GIS & carbon technical"]
  S --> S3["Impact assessment"]
  S --> S4["ES · EN · PT"]

  X --> X1["6 years voluntary carbon"]
  X --> X2["Earthshot Lab — current"]
  X --> X3["South Pole — prior"]

“I don’t have all the answers — but I know where to start looking. Let’s navigate this carbon-markets journey and explore climate-based solutions together.”

02 — Qualifications

Education.

A path through forestry, anthropology, and geospatial modelling — the combination that informs how I read AFOLU projects today.

M.Sc. — Analysis & Modelling of Environmental Systems

Federal University of Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil Mar 2015 — May 2017
Improved forest management Finance analysis Deforestation Degradation
fig. 02 — UFMG capability map 
graph LR
  subgraph Technical
    A[Analysis & Modeling]
    B[Statistical Methods]
    C[Computational Techniques]
  end
  subgraph Practical
    D[Fieldwork]
    E[Env. Data Collection]
    F[Data Management]
  end
  subgraph Communication
    G[Research]
    H[Academic Writing]
    I[Audience Engagement]
  end
  A --> B & C
  D --> E --> F
  G --> H & I
  B -.-> E
  C -.-> F
  F -.-> G

B.Sc. — Anthropology

University of Antioquia Medellín, Colombia Dec 2005 — Dec 2013
Human-rights-based approach FPIC Land-use tenure Deforestation
fig. 03 — UdeA capability map 
graph LR
  subgraph Methods
    D[Ethnography]
    E[Qualitative Analysis]
    F[Participatory Methods]
  end
  subgraph Focus
    G[Human Rights]
    H[Indigenous Communities]
    I[Social Change]
  end
  subgraph Applied
    J[Land-use Mapping]
    K[FPIC Implementation]
    L[Theory of Change]
  end
  D --> J & K
  E --> J & L
  F --> K
  G --> K
  H --> J & K
  I --> L & F

B.Eng. — Forestry

National University of Colombia Medellín, Colombia Jan 2005 — Jun 2012
Forest inventory LiDAR & remote sensing Sustainable forest mgmt Forest economics Forest mapping
fig. 04 — UNAL capability map 
graph LR
  subgraph Core
    A[Sustainable Forest Mgmt]
    B[Forest Science]
  end
  subgraph Technical
    C[Forest Inventory]
    D[LiDAR & RS]
    E[Economic Outcomes]
  end
  subgraph Practical
    F[Forest Mapping]
    G[Harvesting Plan]
    H[Resource Assessment]
  end
  subgraph Management
    J[Sustainability Analysis]
    K[Env. Impact Assessment]
  end
  A & B --> C
  C --> F & H
  D & E --> F
  F --> G
  H --> K & J
  B --> K
03 — Interests

Where the work lives.

My approach combines accounting models and geospatial methods to drive climate action, always with a human-rights-based lens.

fig. 05 — interest map (technical complexity × interest) 
quadrantChart
  title "Where my interests sit"
  x-axis "Medium tech. complexity" --> "High tech. complexity"
  y-axis "Medium interest" --> "High interest"
  quadrant-1 "Core technical"
  quadrant-2 "Core research"
  quadrant-3 "Growth areas"
  quadrant-4 "Supporting knowledge"
  "Carbon Methodologies": [0.75, 0.95]
  "Carbon Accounting Modelling": [0.85, 0.85]
  "Jurisdictional REDD": [0.55, 0.60]
  "Scope 3 Removals": [0.65, 0.75]
  "Geospatial Analysis": [0.80, 0.75]
  "Socio-env. Monitoring": [0.35, 0.90]
  "Forestry Science": [0.50, 0.95]
  "Agroforestry": [0.50, 0.70]
  "Benefit Sharing": [0.45, 0.15]
  "Project Safeguards": [0.25, 0.60]
  "Human Rights": [0.25, 0.45]
  "FPIC": [0.15, 0.35]
  "Article 6": [0.55, 0.30]
  "Remote Sensing": [0.85, 0.45]
  "Fire Modelling": [0.70, 0.35]
  "Data Visualization": [0.60, 0.40]
04 — Experience

Roles and where they happened.

A condensed timeline of the work — private, public, and non-profit — across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

  • Oct 2023 — Sep 2024 Carbon Compliance Expert — Carbon Development Earthshot Lab · Private sector 1 yr
  • Jan 2023 — Nov 2023 Regional Lead — Nature-Based Solutions, Climate Projects South Pole · Private sector 0.9 yr
  • Jun 2020 — Dec 2022 Senior Project Coordinator — Forestry & Land-Use Projects South Pole · Private sector 2.5 yr
  • Jun 2017 — Dec 2020 GIS — Forestry & Land-Use Projects South Pole · Private sector 3 yr
  • May 2016 — Dec 2016 Environmental Analyst WWF · Non-profit 0.67 yr
  • Jul 2015 — Dec 2015 Assistant Professor Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais · Public sector 0.5 yr
  • Jul 2013 — Feb 2015 Land-Tenure & Land-Use Advisor Indigenous Organization of Antioquia · Non-profit 1.67 yr

Experience by region

Latin America 72%
Africa 18%
Southeast Asia 10%
05 — Tools

What I work with.

Project & collaboration SaaS
  • ClickUpcloud PM
  • Mirowhiteboarding
  • Monday.comtask tracking
Commercial GIS & RS Platforms
  • ArcMapEsri GIS
  • ENVIRS suite
  • ERDAS ImagineRS suite
  • IDRISIRS suite
Open-source GIS & RS Free
  • QGISGIS
  • Google Earth Enginecloud RS
  • DINAMICA-EGOREDD+ modelling
  • SPRINGRS / image analysis
Data formats Databases
  • .gdbfile geodatabase
  • BigQuerycloud warehouse
Programming Languages
  • Pythongeospatial / data
  • Rstats / viz
  • JavaScriptweb maps
Standards Methodologies
  • VCS / VerraAFOLU registry
  • CCBco-benefit standard
  • Gold Standardproject standard
  • GHG ProtocolScope 3
  • SBTitargets
06 — References

People I’ve learned from.

A short, partial list — mentors who shaped how I work and colleagues who continue to.

Academic

RD

Robert Dover

Anthropologist · Mentor

Taught me the soft skills for working with traditional communities. In memoriam.

BSF

Britaldo Soares-Filho

Land-use modelling · UFMG

Researcher pushing the frontier on Amazonian land-use modelling and policy scenarios.

SMC

Sônia Maria Carvalho

Forestry economics · UFMG

Insight on the economics of sustainable forest management at landscape scale.

DA

Dolors Armenteras

Landscape ecology · UNAL

A reference on biodiversity, fire, and ecosystem dynamics in the Neotropics.

Professional

AM

Abel Marcarini

Carbon project lead, Brazil · Earthshot Lab

10+ years on NbS for the voluntary carbon market. Prior: Verra, South Pole.

BZ

Beatriz Zapata

Forest engineer · South Pole

Deep technical knowledge of VCS, CCB, and Gold Standard methodologies and tooling.

MA

Milena Agudelo

Manager, Nature Climate Solutions · Verra

Reviews ALM and WRC registration and verification at Verra. Forest engineer, MSc.

DM

David Montoya González

RS & GIS lead · TerraGlobal

Leads remote sensing and GIS for community-based geospatial monitoring.

07 — Curriculum vitae

Download my CV.

Two tracks, one career — pick the version that’s most relevant to your team.

PDF · 240 KB CV — Carbon Development & Operations Download → PDF · 240 KB CV — Social Safeguards & Community Download →