Valérie Merckx to lead EU FLEGT and REDD Facilities

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Valérie Merckx has been appointed as the Head of the FLEGT and REDD Unit, and will start in her position immediately. Valerie has joined EFI in 2010 as REDD team leader. In that position she has been responsible for the development and overall leadership of the EU REDD Facility and has significantly contributed to design and implementation of the EU REDD Facility’s strategy.

Prior to joining EFI, she worked at the European Commission as part of the EU international climate negotiations team, where she followed forest and land-use issues. Before that Valérie worked for the French Office National des Forêts (ONF), first as head of a territorial unit and then following climate and energy issues at ONF headquarters. She has a background in forestry and agronomics.

EFI hosts the EU FLEGT Facility which supports the implementation of the EU FLEGT Action Plan with a focus on Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). The Facility contributes to combating illegal logging and strengthening forest governance while encouraging sustainable economic development in countries that produce or process timber and export to the EU. 

EFI also hosts the EU REDD Facility which supports countries in improving land-use governance as part of their efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation. It also supports the overall EU effort to reduce its contribution to deforestation in developing countries. The Facility focuses on countries that are engaged in REDD+, an international mechanism that incentivises developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their forest and land-use sectors.