Ms Cropper is President of The Cropper
Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable organization committed to
sustainable development and was until recently independent member of the
Senate of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
She has worked at the local, national,
regional and international levels on the nexus between environment and
sustainable development.
Ms Cropper has been an inspiration for
activities in public policy, environmental education and policy making,
and social justice within Trinidad and Tobago and throughout the Caribbean
Region.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "I am delighted that the
Secretary General has appointed a person of such demonstrable intellect;
depth of experience in the environment and sustainable development fields;
outstanding management qualities and natural diplomatic skills to the post
of UNEP Deputy Executive Director at this important juncture in the
organization's evolution".
Ms Cropper's list of achievements and
successes including senior positions held in a wide range of national and
international institutions as well as contributions to numerous key and
relevant boards, trusts, committees and global assessments - within and
outside the UN - will be an asset and an inspiration to UNEP and its
staff, he underlined.
"The post of Deputy Executive Director
is a key leadership and managerial appointment in UNEP. One that is
central to the success and future direction of this organization as it
strives to reform its work and fit itself for the very real and exacting
challenges - but also extraordinary opportunities - emerging in this new
century," said Mr Steiner.
He thanked the other distinguished and
impressive individuals who had out forward their candidacies. Mr Steiner
also thanked the interview panel for the thorough and transparent way they
carried out the interviews and their deliberations.
Ms Cropper will succeed Mr Shafqat
Kakakhel who in December steps down after nine years of distinguished
service with UNEP in the Deputy Executive Director post.
"Mr Kakakhel has played a formidable
and distinctive management and political role, utilizing his many years as
a professional diplomat to great effect and not least in UNEP's
relationship with member states and of course to our Committee of
Permanent Representatives," added Mr Steiner.
Ms. Cropper's background
Starting her career as an economist,
Ms Cropper has also held senior positions with the Caribbean Community and
Common Market Secretariat (CARICOM) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN)
followed by positions as interim Executive Secretary of the UN Convention
on Biological Diversity and as Senior Adviser on Environment and
Development with the United Nations Development Programme.
Ms Cropper brings to UNEP profound
experience in environmental policy, analysis and negotiations combined
with high-level engagement in intergovernmental environmental negotiations
and processes as well as a strong sense of vision and strategy setting.
She also brings strong leadership and management qualifications and
experience.
Throughout her career, Ms Cropper has
advocated for the equitable use of natural resources and has actively
participated in many high-level processes at the cutting edge of
sustainable development. She played a key role in the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment and led two sub-global assessments on the Northern Range in
Trinidad and the Caribbean Sea.
Ms Cropper has received a number of
environmental awards in recognition of her achievements and her visionary
leadership and selfless public service which have catalyzed numerous
activities for equity, peace and sustainable development at both
international and local levels.
Ms Cropper is currently serving on a
number of international advisory boards, including the CARICOM Task Force
on Functional Cooperation, the Council of the United Nations University,
the European Union High-Level Panel on Sustainability, the Board of
Trustees of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the External Advisory
Group to the World Bank on the Implementation of its forest strategy.
Ms Cropper has also been a Visiting
Distinguished Fellow with the Woods Hole Research Center and a Visiting
Distinguished Fellow and McClusky Fellow with the Yale School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies.
Ms Cropper has a degree in development
economics and international law from Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados,
respectively.
Source:
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Press release.
