Non-profit Proforest, which works on implementing sustainable production and sourcing of agricultural and forestry commodities, has appointed Taufiq Alimi as its new executive director for Southeast Asia.
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Taufiq, who is based in Proforest’s Jakarta office, will lead a fast-growing regional team across Malaysia and Indonesia. Before this, he was vice president and Indonesia country lead of Rare, an international conservation and development organisation based in the United States, where he worked with local government and community stakeholders on initiatives such as ‘managed access’ fishing areas in Southeast Sulawesi.
“[Taufiq’s] recent work in fisheries and oceans at Rare will add to his forestry expertise and allow him to bring in new ideas and strategies to Proforest,” said Abraham Baffoe, executive director of Proforest Global and Africa in a statement. Taufiq will also sit on Proforest’s group executive board, where he will contribute to developing and delivering the group’s global strategy.
Taufiq succeeds Surin Suksuwan, Proforest’s former regional director for Southeast Asia, who will continue to work with the organisation in a technical consulting capacity. According to its website, Proforest currently works with stakeholders across the palm oil, coconut, cocoa, rubber and timber industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, China and Japan. It engages these commodities’ buyers and suppliers on global environmental and labour commitments, supports the development of industry standards, and helps develop knowledge and capacity.
Taufiq told Eco-Business that Proforest’s focus on human development, especially among vulnerable communities that depend on natural resources, closely aligns with his personal goal of helping people protect nature while sustaining their livelihoods.
“The demand and need for improvement of natural resources management is never static. New scientific findings, social pressure and [increasing] demand for commodities are changing the dynamics, of our work and making it more complex every day,” he said.
Another challenge he aims to address at Proforest is the longstanding misconception among businesses that aligning economic and financial goals with social and environmental ones lead to additional costs.
Fortunately, Taufiq sees growing interest from financial institutions to improve how businesses interact with natural resources. He has also observed growing awareness on the need for sustainable consumption by users in developed economies. These trends, he said, “helps move the topic of sustainability up the business agenda.”
Prior to serving with Rare and now Proforest, Taufiq had been chief executive officer at the Indonesian Ecolabel Institute (LEI), a certification system for natural resource management, and executive chair of Indonesia’s National Forestry Council. He was also country coordinator of the Clinton Climate Initiative-Forestry, under the Clinton Foundation.
“We are extremely excited that Taufiq is bringing his expertise, skills, and energies toProforest team and mission,” said Ruth Nussbaum, Executive Director, ProforestGlobal and Europe. “Taufiq will be responsible for leading our Southeast Asia team to enhance Proforest’s profile and advance our mission across the region, in collaboration with our Malaysia and Indonesia Country Directors, Tor Mooi See and Langlang Tata Buana.’’
