We are often asked what is the core of our work and what are our goals and vision. In this short article, we want to give the answers.

Who we are

In 2011, Patrick Ribeiro, Alexander Watson, Stefan Haas have founded OpenForests. Today we are a team of 8 persons and have built a strong network of supporting organizations and consultants with complementary skill sets.

Our focus lays on developing integrated information management systems for forestry, agroforestry and conservation projects. We support organizations to acquire satellite-, drone-, and field data and assist with remote sensing and data analysis tasks, provide web-based forest information management software, and run a project presentation and communication platform.

Our clients are from Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Vision

Our work is embedded in our deep belief that forests are key to a future worth living in and that we have to find ways to use forests in an ecological and socially sustainable way while developing a close connection with nature.

We envision forest landscapes in which people, families and small to medium organizations are connected with their land while having a sustainable income now and for generations to come.

Instead of making natural resources based projects competing for short-term returns, we want to foster a market differentiation based on values such as sustainability, transparency, and trust. Ultimately, we want our work to lead towards a cultural mind-shift, that acknowledges the integrity and intrinsic value of biodiverse and healthy forest landscapes.

OpenForests is our vehicle to pursue this vision, a vision that we share with our clients. With them, we want to form a movement of passionate and daring pioneers that believe that another forestry is possible.

Mission

We dedicate our work to enabling sustainable landscape projects to thrive.

We do this, by delivering tools and services for better and transparent information management, improvement of marketing and fundraising capacities, facilitating access to local and international forest product markets, and by creating a supportive and strong community that is sharing knowledge and inspiration about innovative and visionary forest landscape projects.