Tanzania’s Elizabeth Maruma Mrema appointed head of UN Convention on Biodiversity

Tanzania’s Elizabeth Maruma Mrema has been appointed by the UN Secretary General as the executive secretary of the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The appointment makes Ms Mrema the seventh head of the convention after six a month period as acting executive secretary. 

Stressing that biodiversity is going through a "critical time," Mrema said that "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," she added, according to a CBD press release.

Ms Mrema has been the Acting Executive Secretary of the CBD Secretariat since December 2019, prior to that, Ms Mrema had served as director of the Law Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.

With over two decades of experience at the United Nations, Ms Mrema brings to the position extensive experience in global environmental law and policymaking, implementation of environmental and sustainable development programmes, and a deep knowledge of multilateral processes.

In a recent interview, Mrema noted that "the present COVID-19 crisis provides us with a reset button on our relationship with nature. It can still be the year that our global attitude and approach to nature fundamentally changes."

For her, the pandemic reaffirms "that biodiversity is fundamental for human health – and has given new urgency to the need to protect it," and it has also shown that "international cooperation is paramount for the health of our nature, our economies, and our people.".

Before joining UNEP, Ms Mrema worked with Tanzania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. During her time with the Ministry, she also lectured in Public International Law and Conference Diplomacy at Tanzania's Centre for Foreign Relations and Diplomacy.

Ms. Mrema holds a Master of Law degree from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.