About us

Silva Tree is a Central American company specializing in environmental project development. We release a small percentage of our projects to private investment in order to accelerate our expansion and the environmental impact we can create. Our projects are scientifically developed in accordance with CDM (Kyoto protocol) methodologies, with additionality, permanence and socioeconomic tests regularly performed by 3rd party verifiers. A variety of rigorous procedures are undertaken by an official VCS and CCBA approved auditor to ensure projects have been designed, developed and executed correctly and in line with the projections, studies and measurements made.

Silva Tree’s project portfolio is growing steadily and already includes an avoided deforestation (REDD) project in Costa Rica as well as a reforestation project in Panama, with two further bio-fuel projects currently under development. Our carefully selected staff is made up of forestry experts, environmental workers, financial experts and business professionals. Our team is based both on-site in Costa Rica and Panama, as well as across Europe. We believe in equal opportunities and boast a highly international and multi-cultural team.

Directors profiles

Maurice Sjerps Bsc. Project management

Maurice has been living in Central America for over twenty years. His forestry expertise started in 1994 with the set up of his own company providing reforestation and maintenance services, establishing its own commercial timber plantations in Costa Rica and creating an international timber trade platform. Since then, Maurice has been consistently active in the timber and forestry industries, growing Teak and other hardwoods, and achieving FSC Smartwood certification. He has been responsible for the management of plantations in Spain, Turkey, Hungary, Panama, Bolivia and Costa Rica.

Maurice’s role in Silva Tree is onsite project management: Due to his considerable experience in the industry, his role in the Princess Project is the set-up and management of reforestation activities which includes the planting, thinning and management of Paulownia plantations, management of onsite staff, and the harvest and preparation of timber for export.

Patricius Visser Business development

Patricius’ international business background has taken him all over the world. He has owned successful companies in the holiday and leisure, property and IT industries. Now based in Europe, Patricius is in charge of Silva Tree’s legal and financial project structures, Trustee set-up, business development, sales and marketing.

Delving into his considerable expertise, he develops the business structure for each project and executes it with maximum investor security and company credibility in mind. He oversees the writing of contracts, certificates and all legal materials, liaises with lawyers, trusts, SIPP providers and tax experts.

Keren Katz M.A. Project design & development

Keren has a strong academic background as well as previous experience in the finance and property sectors. Having studied the voluntary carbon market, she is responsible for Silva Tree’s project development.

Keren designs all projects in accordance with the various certification standards (CCBS, VCS) and assesses land suitability, project viability and Carbon sequestration levels. Working in the field and behind the scenes to ensure Carbon offset qualification, Keren is also responsible for the community and biodiversity benefits of the Princess Project as well as writing of carbon offset documents such as the PIN and PDD, submitting them for third party verification and conducting the necessary re-verification processes.

Consultant profiles

Ing. Eduardo Reyes BSc. MSc. MA.

Ing. Reyes has held the position of Deputy Administrator General of ANAM (Vice Minister rank) since 2004. For the last five years, his duties focused on assisting the General Administrator in achieving all the environmental objectives that Panama mandates by law. Eduardo Reyes has been engaged in the UNFCCC process since 2002 and dealt with Climate Change issues since 2000 under CDM, and Adaptation Projects under UNDP. His last two meetings after Poznan COP 14 were the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP talksand SBSTA, SBI, AWG-LCA and AWG-KP both in Bonn from March 29 to April 8, 2009 and from June 1st to June 12th, where he participated in all issues under negotiation that ultimately will shape the content of the post 2012 Agenda that should be reached at Copenhagen next December 2009.

He is the UNFCCC focal point in Panama, the GEF technical point in the country, and the active negotiator under UNFCCC processes. Ing. Reyes was also the Technical Focal Point for The Global Environment Facility (GEF), which deals with Biodiversity, Desertification, and Climate Change issues for the Resource Allocation Fund (RAF) and other GEF funds. He is the appointed head of the National Designated Authority (DNA) whose duties include the education regarding CDM activities and processes, the structuring of projects as possible CDM qualifying projects, and the building of a portfolio of possible CDM projects. His work with CCAD, ANAM, and UNFCCC involved responsibilities as Country Coordinator of the Environmental Energy Partnership (EEP) program under the auspices of the Government of Finland. In this capacity, he was part of the EEP Steering Committee (ESC) that evaluated project proposals from Central American countries. Due to his strong involvement in the EEP, Panama jumped from having one project approved in the period January 2002-August 2004 to having 26 approved, out of 52 presented at the date of writing (2009), the result of being very creative and innovative in all the proposals submitted, and of following at all times the issues concerning transfer of technology as specified in the UNFCCC.

Click to see his Curriculum Vitae