"Conservation science alone will not achieve conservation," stated Ms Angela Cropper - Chair of the IUCN Programme Committee. The IUCN mission shows that science must be used to influence, encourage and assist societies. The deliberate management of knowledge generation and flows is important if the Union is to make make a difference.- at the World Conservation Congress, 2004

Introduction

Ms. Angela Cropper was an Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She joined UNEP as the Deputy Executive Director in February 2008. Ms. Cropper has 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.

Early Life / Work History

Ms. Angela Cropper graduated from the University of the West Indies with BSc Economics (Hons.) and LL.B (Hons.). Ms. Cropper has worked with International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) as Project Manager for the Eastern Caribbean; The Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) as Director of Functional Cooperation and Adviser in Environment and Education; IUCN – the World Conservation Union as Head of Governance; UNEP as interim Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; UNDP as Senior Advisor in Environment and Development. 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. She was appointed Independent Member of the Senate of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago in 2005

Ms. Cropper and the Environment

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 (co-chaired the Assessment Panel) 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. She 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. Angela Cropper is co-founder and President of The Cropper Foundation, a not-for-profit organization contributing among other things to public policy for sustainable development. Member and International Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Canada (third term). Angela Cropper was appointed to the Board of International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in June 2005. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); She was a member of the Board of the Trinidad and Tobago Environmental Management Authority and Trustee of its Environment Fund. She was a member of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, and was the Chairperson of its Editorial Committee and Editor of the Commission's Report. She is a former Chair of the Board of Trustees of Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development in Guyana.

Awards and Honours

• Zayed Sustainability Price

Other Sources of Information on Angela Cropper:

• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
• The Cropper Foundation
• United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)

Update: Ms. Angela Cropper passed away on November 12, 2012