The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong,its first director,after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership,deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues,including climate change,the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems,and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements;publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948,IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and analysis,research,field projects,advocacy,and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence,encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable".
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a non-profit scientific research organization that conducts research on the use and management of forests with a focus on tropical forests in developing countries. CIFOR,which merged with World Agroforestry on Jan. 1,2019,is the forestry and agroforestry research center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),a network of 15 research centers around the world that focus on agricultural research for sustainable development,working closely with governments and other partners to help develop evidence-based solutions to problems related to sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
Børge Brende is a Norwegian politician and diplomat,and has been the president of the World Economic Forum since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party,he previously was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017,Minister of the Environment from 2001 to 2004 and Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004 to 2005. He was also a member of the Norwegian Parliament from Sør-Trøndelag between 1997 and 2009.
Calestous Juma was a Kenyan scientist and academic,specializing in sustainable development. He was named one of the most influential 100 Africans in 2012,2013 and 2014 by the New African magazine. He was Professor of the Practice of International Development and Faculty Chair of the Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program at Harvard Kennedy School. Juma was Director of the School's Science,Technology and Globalization Project at Harvard Kennedy School as well as the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His last book,Innovation and Its Enemies:Why People Resist New Technologies, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-American economist,who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. Notably,she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization as Director-General. She was previously on the boards of Danone,Standard Chartered Bank,MINDS:Mandela Institute for Development Studies,Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,Georgetown Institute for Women,Peace and Security,One Campaign,GAVI:Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization,Rockefeller Foundation,R4D:Results for Development,ARC:African Risk Capacity and Earthshot Prize plus others. She also previously sat on the Twitter Board of Directors,and stepped down in February 2021 in connection with her appointment as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra is a Mexican biologist currently serving as her country's Secretary of Foreign Affairs. She previously served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from July 2008 to March 2022.
Achim Steiner is a Brazilian-born environmentalist who currently serves as the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and vice-chair of United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Ismail Serageldin,Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA),the new Library of Alexandria,inaugurated in 2002,is currently,Emeritus Librarian,and member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexandria. He serves as Chair or Member of a number of advisory committees for academic,research,scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts,and serves on the Advisory Committee of the World Social Science Report for 2013 and 2016,as well as the UNESCO-supported World Water Scenarios (2013) and the executive council of the Encyclopedia of Life (2010) and Chairs the Executive Council of the World Digital Library (2010). He also co-chaired the African Union's high level panel for Biotechnology (2006) and again for Science,Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2012–2013,and was a member of the ICANN Panel for the review of the internet future (2013).
Julia Marton-Lefèvre is a French - US environmentalist and academic. She studied history,ecology and environmental planning in the US and in France,and was born in Hungary.
Susan Davis is an author,public speaker,consultant and expert on international development and social entrepreneurship. She is the Chairperson of Solutions Journalism Network,an Adjunct Associate Professor at New York University Stern School of Business,a coach to social entrepreneurs and active on many boards and advisory councils.
Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis is a Costa Rican economist who has been serving as Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 13 September 2021.
Angela Cropper of Trinidad and Tobago served as assistant secretary-general and deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in November 2007.
Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova is a Bulgarian economist serving as the 12th managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She was the Chief Executive of the World Bank Group from 2017 to 2019 and served as Acting President of the World Bank Group from 1 February to 8 April 2019 following the resignation of Jim Yong Kim. She previously served as Vice-President of the European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker from 2014 to 2016.
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen is a Costa Rican diplomat who has led national,international and multilateral policy negotiations. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010,six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen. During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process,leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement,widely recognized as a historic achievement.
Amina Jane Mohammed is a British Nigerian diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously,she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was a player in the Post-2015 Development Agenda process. She is also Chair of United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Tan Sri Zakri bin Abdul Hamid has had a distinguished career in science as a researcher,educator,administrator and diplomat.
Marion Guillou is a French scientist specialized in global food security.
Peter Bakker is a Dutch businessman who currently serves as president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Joachim von Braun is a German agricultural scientist and currently director of a department of the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn and President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
