Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín was the Minister of

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

and the Environment in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Her role in government includes raising awareness of environmental issues amongst Cubans.

Career

Simeón took on the position of Minister of the Environment in 1986 at a time when the issue was beginning to feature prominently in the political agenda of Governments and international organizations. In 1989, she participated, for the first time, in the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose sixth meeting took place in Brasilia that year. Since then she has played a prominent role in subsequent regional forums and her presence has been widely recognized. Simeón was responsible for directing Cuba's preparations for the Rio Summit. In 1994 she participated in the development of the Alliance of Small Island States Summit (AOSIS). The ninth meeting of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Cuba in 1995. Under Simeón's presidency, this event marked a significant change in those forums, with a shift of approach in the way 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) dealt with environmental problems in the region. Simeón attended the Kyoto Summit in 1997, to participate in the discussion of the Protocol that bears that city's name, a Protocol which was developed for the purpose of implementing the

United Nations framework convention on climate change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...

. She was elected a member of the Bureau of the

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 ...

Governing Council in 2000, participating in the

World Summit on Sustainable Development The World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, took place in South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss ustainable developmentorganizations, 10 years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was the ...

in South Africa in 2002. In 2003, after her role in the negotiation of its headquarters agreement, she presided over the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through ...

, which took place in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Awards and honors

United Nations Champions of the Earth, 2006

Career

Awards and honors

References

See also