Nicolas Andres Eslava is the founder and director of Afai Consulting BV, a consultancy that provides key insights in little understood extractive value chains and sectors as well as tailored advisory services in the field of natural resource governance, that focus on the interplay between the extractive sectors and Human Security issues at the local, national, regional and global level. Within that field, Nicolas focuses on the financing of armed groups and the functioning of informal and illegal economies, as well as their impacts on: local socio-economic structures and communities, the armed forces, organised crime and non-state armed groups. An interest that has drawn him to the topic of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM), an important and yet often disdained sector of the global economy and its supply chains. In addition to his focus on natural resources governance, Nicolas is also a founder and advisor to Fundación Ava Jeva Amazonia, a Colombian foundation dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the Amazonian biosphere in the Caquetá department; a key region of the Colombian post-conflict that is now standing at an environmental and social crossroads that will be influenced by the different organized crime and armed groups present in the region, among other factors. Following these interests, he has worked intensively across the globe covering the different and interconnected aspects of these subjects on all continents, from rural DRC to the Colombian Amazon, Sri Lankan lagoons or European capitals. He brings with him a thorough understanding of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and is now working towards integrating always more geo-located information into his approach to the understanding of complex natural resource governance topics. Nicolas’ clients and partners include governmental entities, international donors and private companies, as well as foundations and NGOs.