Bonn, 3 April – The recently-appointed Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Ms. Angela Cropper, visited Bonn today, in order to meet CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth and the co-located Agreement Secretariats, and to familiarise herself with current CMS issues and conservation policy.

Ms. Cropper showed major interest in the current activities of the Secretariat and undertook an intensive dialogue with CMS staff members. A presentation giving a “Bird’s Eye View of CMS” was followed by a more specific look into “CMS Agreements and Species Initiatives”. Other topics covered included: “Resources and Organization”, “Partnerships with NGOs and the Private Sector”, as well as the outstanding achievements of the Year of the Dolphin campaign. The Deputy Executive Director emphasized the need for the CMS Family to strengthen its links with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

Ms. Cropper also visited the AEWA and Eurobats Secretariats and held talks with the CMS Family Executive Secretaries on common issues affecting the organization, such as administrative services, the proposed CMS Family Information and Fundraising Unit and preparations for the CBD COP in May, the AEWA MOP in September and the CMS COP in Rome in December 2008.

After presenting a statement to the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee in the afternoon, the UNEP Deputy Executive Director invited all CMS Family staff to a meeting, where she took the opportunity to make a brief statement and address questions and concerns of staff members. Ms. Cropper paid tribute to the interns working for the CMS Family, describing the high take-up of internships as a vote of confidence in the Convention and its Agreements.

The Executive Secretary of CMS invited Ms. Cropper to attend the major CMS side event scheduled for 26 May during the forthcoming CBD Conference in Bonn.

Later on 3 April, Ms. Cropper spoke at a public BMZ Policy Dialogue in Bonn, where she emphasised close links between biodiversity sciences and poverty alleviation, drawing on her previous leadership role in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Note: Ms Angela Cropper of Trinidad and Tobago took up her post as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in February 2008.

Link to UNEP news release Ms. Cropper’s appointment