8 June 2020 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today appointed Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, a national of the United Republic of Tanzania, as the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Ms. Mrema has served as the CBD Acting Executive Secretary since 1 December 2019. She becomes the seventh Executive Secretary to head the UN Biodiversity Convention.
“It is my great honour to assume the leadership of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity at this critical time for biodiversity,” said Ms. Maruma. “The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has reaffirmed what we already know – that biodiversity is fundamental for human health – and has given us all a new urgency to protect it.”
“My immediate priority is to ensure successful negotiations in developing a robust and ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework.”