New Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Appointed

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Maruma Mrema of Tanzania as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Ms. Mrema has been the Acting Executive Secretary of the CBD Secretariat since December 2019 and has previously served as Director of the Law Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals as well as served as the Acting Executive Secretary of the UNEP/ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas) as well as Interim Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Gorilla Agreement, all based in Bonn, Germany.

Ms. Mrema said:

It is my great honour to assume the leadership of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity at this critical time for biodiversity, .My immediate priority is to ensure successful negotiations in developing a robust and ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework.