About AltaVerde Consulting

 

AltaVerde Consulting supports insightful design of landscape- and project-scale land use activities to slow deforestation and reduce emission of greenhouse gases, restore degraded forests and landscapes, and adapt to the impacts of climate change by introducing more resilient practices.  We are experienced in identifying sources of financing and writing complex proposals to meet World Bank, Green Climate Fund (GCF), USAID, and private sector standards, to pilot Low Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS).

 

We consult for governments, international environmental NGOS, and private companies to devise comprehensive and sustainable solutions to land use management. We are currently involved in: 

  • Writing and reviewing complex proposals,

  • Evaluating programs,

  • Working with local partners to co-develop $50 million to $200 million programs in Africa, Asia and globally.

Staff have:

  • Produced knowledge management products on LEDS, landscape restoration, and landscape finance projects,

  • Evaluated and proposed redesign of emerging resilience projects,

  • Developed sustainability standards for the World Bank and private clients,

  • Acted as lead author and design consultant on several large proposals to the GCF,

  • Led review teams for evaluation of large World Bank REDD+ programs,

  • Developed Theory of Change plans to show how a project can be transformative,

  • Written finance publications and presentations,

  • Chaired workshops,

  • Managed a LEDS/green growth global land use partnership, and

  • Performed analysis of climate mitigation options.

Topics of Expertise

About Ken Andrasko

President and CEO of AltaVerde Consulting

ken quilatoa 11 2017.jpg

AltaVerde Consulting LLC was founded in 2017 by Kenneth Andrasko to expand the range and scale of support activities to clients, and to engage a larger pool of skilled, experienced natural resources experts.  Ken:

  • Served on the Clinton administration’s Kyoto United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change land use negotiating team 1999-2001.

  • Co-authored or edited 6 IPCC technical reports for UNFCCC process; and 30 peer-reviewed technical papers.

  • Joined the World Bank’s Environment Department, Carbon Finance Unit, in 2007-2014 as one of the half-dozen staff who conceived and operationalized the $1.1 Billion Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

  • Developed the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) expert review process for FCPF; was lead author of the proposal template for countries’ 100-page Readiness Preparation Proposals (R-PPs) to requested funding from FCPF; and co-led work with Costa Rica as the first country to successfully enter the pipeline of the Carbon Fund for $63m support.

  • Led the two-year development of FCPF’s Carbon Fund’s Methodological Framework, a set of standards for how tropical countries would design and submit ~$100m proposals to sell emissions reductions from avoided deforestation (REDD+) to the World Bank.

  • Acted as Senior Director of Winrock International’s Environment Group ($30m per year in land use projects), and Director of its Ecosystem Services Unit, Winrock's think tank and methods development team, for several years.

  • Co-led Winrock’s successful proposal that won the USAID global Sustainable Water Partnership for $65m total ($13m initially and buy-ins), and other new business wins.

  • Served as senior analyst for US Environmental Protection Agency in its Office of Policy Analysis and its Climate Change Division for 18 years, located in Washington, DC. During his tenure at EPA, he won four gold or bronze medals for his climate policy work, and co-conceived three climate initiatives announced by Presidents Bush and Clinton. Andrasko co-led and co-authored EPA’s 2005 major study of U.S. forest and agriculture climate mitigation options, based on FASOM model results. Co-developed with Jayant Sathaye of LBNL of 3 land use models, including global forestry and climate mitigation cost model GCOMAP, widely cited.

  • Masters degree in Natural Resource Policy and Economics from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and undergraduate degree at Harvard.