Cristelle Pratt | |
---|---|
Nationality | Fijian |
Occupation(s) | Assistant Secretary-General for the Environment and Climate Action at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). |
Years active | 30 |
Cristelle Pratt, a Fijian national, is Assistant Secretary-General for the Environment and Climate Action at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), based in Brussels. She is a former Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
Cristelle Pratt obtained degrees in marine law and policy from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada and in geoscience from the Australian National University in Canberra. [1] [2]
After completing her education, Pratt held various positions with the private sector and with the Fijian government. She worked as a consultant for organizations such as the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (Crop), World Bank, UN Agencies and Australian Aid in the Asia and the Pacific regions, in areas such as climate change, disaster risk management and ocean governance. [1]
In 2000, she joined the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), an organization serving 21 countries and territories, becoming director from 2004 to 2010. SOPAC, now a division of the Pacific Community (SPC), had the lead responsibility in Oceania for disaster risk management. In 2012 she became Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), located in Suva, Fiji, on a fixed-term six-year contract. In this capacity she supported the development of a Pacific Island regional agenda, known as the Framework for Pacific Regionalism, as well as the development of a narrative on the Blue Pacific Continent. [1] [2] [3]
In 2020, Pratt joined the OACPS as head of the newly created Environment and Climate Action Department. This aims to support member countries to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation; protect biodiversity; promote the sustainable use and management of natural resources; strengthen ocean governance; and build resilience to disasters. [1] [4]
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 Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and it has regional offices in Suva, Pohnpei, and Port Vila, as well as field staff in other locations in the Pacific. Its working languages are English and French. It primarily provides technical and scientific advice, and acts as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations. Unlike the slightly smaller Pacific Islands Forum, the SPC is not a trade bloc, and does not deal with military or security issues.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), and changed its name in 1999 to "Pacific Islands Forum", so as to be more inclusive of the Forum's Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an inter-governmental regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. In 2010, its functions had been transferred to the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), thus ending SOPAC as a separate entity. Today, SOPAC is a division of the SPC with its main office in Suva, Fiji.
The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the organisation's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except Cuba, are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union.
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