UN Names New Head Of Convention On Biological Diversity

Cristiana Paşca Palmer of Romania has been named executive secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Among the CBD’s responsibilities is the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing related to genetic resources.

Paşca Palmer takes over from Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias of Brazil.

The UN press release is reprinted below:

Secretary-General Appoints Cristiana Paşca Palmer of Romania Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, announced today the appointment of Cristiana Paşca Palmer of Romania as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ms. Paşca Palmer will succeed Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias of Brazil, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his continued commitment and contribution to the Convention on Biological Diversity in his capacity as Executive Secretary.

Currently Romania’s Minister for Environment, Waters and Forests since 2015, Ms. Paşca Palmer brings to the position extensive experience in global policymaking and in coordinating the implementation of environment and sustainable development policies, programmes and projects at the national and international levels.  With sound knowledge of intergovernmental processes and advocacy work, she has a strong science base and hands-on experience in programmatic and management challenges related to the Biodiversity Convention.

A former Head of the Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resources Unit within the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development between 2011 and 2015, she was also a Policy Analyst on International Relations and the Western Balkans in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action, from 2010-2011.  She is a multidisciplinary practitioner and academic in international development with a strong focus on green economy and environmental sustainability, in addition to business management, international negotiations and environmental diplomacy.

Born in 1968, Ms. Paşca Palmer holds a Master of Science degree in systems ecology and management of natural capital and a Doctor of Philosophy in international relations and development economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States.