Bonn, 3 September 2011 - UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, took the opportunity of his attendance at the 64th Conference for NGOs in Bonn to visit the staff of the CMS Secretariat.

Mr Steiner set out the challenges facing the United Nations in turbulent times – both politically and financially - and stressed the importance of engaging Parties so that the relevance of the UN as the prime forum for international discussion of key global issues was universally recognized. He praised staff for their dedication, promised continuing support from HQ in recruiting new Parties and expressed his confidence that COP10 would bring satisfactory results.