Elizabeth Maruma Mrema is a

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

n biodiversity leader and lawyer, currently based out of

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, who has been serving as Deputy Executive Director of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP) since 2023, under the leadership of Executive Director Inger Andersen. From 2020 to 2022, Mrema served a executive secretary of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD); she was the first African woman to hold this role. She previously held numerous leadership positions within UNEP.

Early life and education

Mrema earned a Bachelor of Law from

University of Dar-es-Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...

, followed by a Master of Law degree from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in Halifax,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in

Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over ...

, Tanzania.

Career

Before beginning work with

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

, Mrema worked for Tanzania's

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation is a government ministry of Tanzania. The ministry is headed by Liberata Mulamula, and its offices are located at Mtumba in Dodoma. History The ministry of foreign affairs was set up fo ...

, serving as a Counsellor/Senior Legal Counsel. She also lectured in Public International Law and Conference Diplomacy at Tanzania's Centre for Foreign Relations. From 2009 to 2012, Mrema worked at organizations based in Bonn,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 2009, she was appointed Acting Executive Secretary of the UNEP/ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas), Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and Interim Executive Secretary of the UNEP/Gorilla Agreement. From 2012, Mrema served as Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division at the

(UNEP). In this position she was tasked with overseeing the organization's coordination, operations, and programme delivery. She was then appointed Director of the Law Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in June 2014. In 2018 she additionally served as Acting Director of the Corporate Services Division. She was the Director of the Law Division and has worked with UNEP for over two decades. In November 2019, Mrema served an interim position as Officer in Charge of the CBD Secretariat''.'' Starting in December 2019, Mrema served as Acting Executive Secretary of the

(CBD) Secretariat. In July 2020 it was announced that she would be appointed the Executive Secretary role.

Other professional work

In addition to leadership roles, Mrema serves as a pro bono lecturer at the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

- Law School, and has previously lectured pro bono at

International Development Law Organization The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law. With a joint focus on the promotion of rule of law and development, it works to empower people and communiti ...

(IDLO),

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Mrema has published numerous articles on international environmental law and developed influential handbooks and guidelines for multilateral environmental agreements as well as other topics on environmental law.

Honors and awards

In 2007, Mrema received the first-ever UNEP-wide Best Manager of the Year Award (the UNEP Baobab Staff Award) "for exceptional performance and dedication towards achieving the goals of UNEP". In 2021, the IUCN

World Commission on Environmental Law The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natura ...

(WCEL), in collaboration with the

(UNEP), awarded Mrema with the Nicholas Robinson Award for Excellence in Environmental Law. In 2022, Mrema was awarded the

Kew International Medal The Kew International Medal is an award given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to science and conservation. The award was first established in 1992 by the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Laureates Pr ...

by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

for her "vital work in championing the importance of biodiversity conservation and leading the most important international law mechanism for the sustainable use of biodiversity".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrema, Elizabeth Tanzanian women lawyers Tanzanian environmentalists United Nations officials Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Kilimanjaro Region 1957 births 20th-century Tanzanian lawyers 21st-century Tanzanian lawyers