RIO+20 – Poverty-Environment Conference

Born in Brasília, Brazil, Izabella Teixeira is a biologist and holds a Master's Degree in Energy Planning and a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning at COPPE/UFRJ. A civil servant at the Brazilian Environmental Agency since 1984, she has occupied different managing positions at the Agency, as well as at the Ministry of the Environment and at the State Government of Rio de Janeiro. She has also worked as a professor at MBA and environmental courses in different universities - she is an expert in strategic environmental assessment. From 2007 to 2008, Minister Teixeira was the Vice-Secretary of the Environment at the State Government of Rio de Janeiro, until she was nominated for the position of Vice-Minister of the Environment. In May 2010 she was appointed Minister of the Environment and, in January 2011 she has been reappointed to that position by the new President of Brazil.

Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, Director general of The Energy and Resources Institute
Dr Pachauri has been with TERI since 1982, when he joined as Director and was then redesignated as Director-General in April 2001. Since 1998, he has also been Chancellor, TERI University. Prominently known for his research on environmental issues, Dr Pachauri has received both national and international acclaim for his efforts in building awareness and understanding about man-made climate change including laying the foundation for measures required to adapt to and mitigate these changes and their policy dimensions. In April 2002, Dr Pachauri was elected the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as position to which he was re-elected in SIPCC along with former Vice President Al Gore was awarded the “Nobel Peace Prize” for the year 2007. He has been conferred with the “Padma Vibhushan”, second highest civilian award, for his services in the field of science and engineering in January 2008 by the President of India and received the 'Officier De La LégionD'Honneur' from the Government of France in 2006. He has also been conferred with ‘The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star' by His Majesty Akihito, Emperor of Japan, the ‘Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland' by the Prime Minister of Finland and the ‘Commander of the Order of Leopold II' by the King of the Belgians. He also has associations with academic and research institutes and has also authored 23 books and several papers and articles. Since 1999, he has been an appointed Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Environment Agency, Government of Japan. In July 2009 he was also appointed Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute, USA.
 

Luiz Pinguelli Rosa, Director of COPPE / UFRJ
Brazilian, PhD in Physics, Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering. Prof. Rosa is Director of COPPE / UFRJ. Its main lines of research: theoretical physics, elementary particle, neutron physics, nuclear reactors, energy and technology, energy planning and environmental impacts, emissions of greenhouse gases, alternative energy, energy policy and institutional changes, nuclear policy. Scientific papers published in: Revista Brasileira de Física, Revista de Ensino de Física, Revista Brasileira de Energia, Physical Review Letters, Physics Letters, Nuclear Physics, Novo Cimento, Theco Review of Physics, Energy Policy, Ambio, Energy Manegement, Climate Change. Supervised fifty-five Master's and PhD theses, fourteen, from 1973. Member of the World Council of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eletrobrás.

Manuela Carneiro da Cunha studied mathematics at the Paris Faculty of Sciences before specializing in anthropology under the tutelage of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Upon returning to Brazil, she successively held the position of Professor of Anthropology at the University of Campinas and at the University of São Paulo. In 1994, she was appointed Professor at the University of Chicago where she taught until 2009. Her areas of expertise are Amazonian ethnology, ethnic identity, indigenous history, Brazilian law on indigenous people, as well as traditional knowledge and its associated intellectual rights. Since 1978, she has played an active role in defending the rights of traditional populations. She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Third World Academy of Science, and recipient of the Prix de la Francophonie awarded by the Académie Française for the promotion of the French language throughout the world. In 2012, she holds the Chair Knowledge Against Poverty – AFD of Collège de France in Paris.
 

Julia Marton-Lefèvre was Director General of IUCN, the world’s largest conservation/environment membership organization, which brings together states, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, scientists and experts in a unique worldwide partnership. Prior to this, Julia was Rector of the University for Peace (UPEACE), a graduate-level international university mandated by the United Nations, Executive Director of LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International, a programme established by The Rockefeller Foundation, and Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Julia is a member of a number of boards, councils and committees including the UN Global Compact, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), LEAD International, the Volvo Environmental Prize, the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the Oxford University Martin School and the Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability. Previous board memberships have included the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Earth Charter International, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), the Lemelson Foundation, ICSU's Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED) and the Inter Academy Council's Panel on Promoting Worldwide Science and Technology Capacities for the 21st Century. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.

José Maria Cardoso da Silva has a PhD by the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, in Denmark. He is an all-round biologist, experienced in program administration, teaching, consulting, museum collections in Brazil, the US and Europe, scientific reviews and publication editing. He conducted over 800 days of fieldwork in all biomes of Brazil. His technical work includes ecology, systematic, biogeography, molecular biology, priority setting processes for biodiversity conservation areas and species, creation and management of protected areas and representation analyses of ecosystem and species, among others. He received various awards and has submitted dozens of successful proposals throughout his career. As Adjunct Professor, he has advised 7 PhD students and 13 MSc students with their thesis and he is a member of 7 scientific societies

Pavan is the founder & chair of GIST Advisory, a consulting firm specializing in valuing & managing environmental impacts and dependencies at all levels. This firm was set up by Pavan’s NGO, GIST (Green Indian States Trust) to fund its research into major economic externalities arising from natural capital and human capital. He was Special Adviser and Head of UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative, which demonstrates that the
greening of economies is not a burden on growth but rather a new engine for growing wealth and decent employment, and for the reduction of persistent poverty. A career banker, Pavan took a sabbatical from Deutsche Bank from 2008 till 2010 in order to deliver the environmental projects “TEEB” and the “Green Economy Report” for UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative. Pavan was appointed Study Leader of TEEB in early 2008 whilst still working full time at DB. TEEB, a global study on “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” commissioned by the G8+5, released a widely-acclaimed suite of reports at the UN’s CBD COP-10 at Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010. Pavan pursues long-standing interests in environmental economics and in nature conservation through his work with the GIST and other NGO’s. Under his leadership, GIST researched, developed and published methodology & empirical work on preparing comprehensive ‘Green Accounts’ for India and its States, a first among developing nations. Pavan is Chairperson of the WEF’s “Global Agenda Council” on Biodiversity, and a speaker at Davos. He serves on the boards of Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), CI and on UNDP’s Advisory Panel on the Human Development Report and its HDI. He was awarded the McKluskey Fellowship, 2011, by Yale University.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ms. Kacyira of the Republic of Rwanda as Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UN-HABITAT. She succeeds Ms. Inga Björk-Klevby in the position. Ms. Kirabo is currently the Governor of Eastern Province, the largest province in Rwanda with a population of 2.5 million. Previously, she was Mayor of Kigali City (2006 - 2011), one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the world. In recognition of the high level of cleanliness, greenness, safety and the sustainable, affordable housing initiatives combined with pro-poor urban employment opportunities, under Ms. Kirabo's leadership, Kigali won the UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award in 2008.
Prior to her position as Mayor, Ms. Kirabo was an Elected Member of Parliament (and member of Parliamentary Standing Committee in charge of land use and management, settlement and environment), she actively participated in the legislative and over-sight functions of parliament in addition to community mobilization. In her new role, Ms. Kirabo will assist the Executive Director, Dr. Clos, in the overall management of UN-HABITAT to achieve its mandate and will support the new UN-HABITAT agenda to face the urban challenges by strengthening urban policies to generate more equitable, wealthy and sustainable cities. Among her many important responsibilities, Ms. Kirabo will support Dr. Clos in advancing the key reviews currently underway at UN-HABITAT, including the review of its strategic priorities for the coming years leading to Habitat III in 2016. Ms. Kirabo was educated at James Cook University, Australia where she gained her Masters in Veterinary Science in Animal Production and Economics and at Makerere University, Uganda where she gained her Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine. She is currently pursuing an MBA in the School of Finance and Banking, Rwanda/Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands.

Remi Genevey has made a large part of his career at Agence Français de Développement AFD as Deputy managing director of PROPARCO then Director of Mediterranean and Middle-East Department; Chief Financial Officer; Representative for France in the Working Group set up to develop options for the Marseilles Networking aCenter (now MCMI) before being appointed Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Executive BoaSeptember 2010.
Remi Genevey graduated a Master’s Degree at ESSEC business school

Mr. Jean-Marc von der Weid is founder and Director of Advisory Services for Alternative Agriculture Projects (AS-PTA), Brazil, dedicated to supporting capacity building and institutional policies in favour of family farming and agro-ecology. Within Brazil, he is a leading member of the National Agro-ecological Alliance (ANA). Internationally, he is a co-author of the ?Time to Act? proposals for Rio+20 on sustainable agriculture and food security, signed by 130 organizations. He is also a former member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) NGO committee.

Since André was a teenager, he has sought to make a difference in the lives of his fellow Brazilians. As a young man, he had the reputation of being a conflict mediator by nature, and he has since explored his interests in social justice issues by taking part in the Fundação Cidade da Paz (City of Peace Foundation), where he worked with important social leaders and helped citizen organizations address major social issues. André received his law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana in 1991, and in 1998 he completed an advanced study program in urban and environmental management. Shortly thereafter, he began working for the Housing Secretariat in Pinhais’ City Hall, in the metropolitan area of Curitiba. During that time, the mayor of Pinhais had committed the municipal government to the mediation of conflicts between landowners and squatter communities with the hope of settling long-deadlocked disputes and improving squatter communities. André played a central role in developing that initiative, and it was there he discovered his true passion. After the subsequent mayor put an end to the project he was working on in 2001, André left his job at City Hall and created Terra Nova to continue his mediation work between landowners and squatters. The first judicial decisions regularizing land titles were approved shortly thereafter, and Terra Nova eventually expanded its operations to other municipalities in the state of Paraná. Since his establishment of Terra Nova, André has received widespread accolades for his work. In 2005, Terra Nova won the René Habitat Award, which is granted to projects that seek to improve housing conditions. The following year, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Paraná presented André with the Entrepreneurial Person of the Year Award. Most recently, Terra Nova was included among ten finalists for the Building and Social Housing Foundation and United Nations’ World Habitat Award.

Justin Kilcullen, who comes from Dublin, graduated with a degree in architecture from University College Dublin 1975. In 1993, he was appointed director of Trócaire, Ireland's second largest NGO, with an annual turnover in excess of €60 million, and with 23 offices throughout the developing world. He has worked in Tanzania, Cambodia and Thailand as an architect with the government and with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. He joined Trócaire in 1981 as programme officer for Africa and later served as representative for CIDSE in Laos from 1988 until 1992. Mr Kilcullen served as the national delegate from the Irish platform to the EU NGO Liaison Committee from 1993 to 1996. Subsequently, he was a member of the executive board of CIDSE and its president from 1997 to 2001. In 2002, he rejoined the EU NGO Liaison Committee and was one of its representatives on the founding committee of Concord, and was eventually elected its president, in June 2006. In 2007/ 2008, he was a member of the Irish government's Hunger Task Force, along with economist Jeffrey Sachs, Josette Sheerin, Bono and others, which devised a strategy for Ireland to play a leading role in addressing the problem of world hunger. This report was presented to the secretary general of the United Nations in September 2008 at the MDG Summit. He also serves on the Irish government's National Committee for the Commemoration of the Irish Famine.

Henri Rouillé d’Orfeuil he was deputy director of technical and scientific cooperation ithe French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and technical adviser to the Minister for International Cooperation and Development. He worked at the World Bank in the agricultural research unit and as head of international relations at the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). He was vice-president of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and chair of Finansol and Coordination SUD, a federation of French NGOs. He was coordinator of the new campus for sustainable development within the Jardin tropical de Paris (Tropical Garden of Paris). He is also He has taught at several universities and is the author of a number of books. He holds a PhD in economics. Henri is Editor in Chief for Agriculture and Food of the journal FACTS Reports.

Henri Valot has rejoined CIVICUS in June 2011 as the Outreach Director, although his relationship with the organisation began in 2005 when he served as the CIVICUS Policy Advisor. In that role, he was involved with the origins of GCAP, the Better Aid Coalition and the pivotal OECD High Level Forum 3 in Accra where CSOs were acknowledged as development actors in their own right. Henri brings more than 20 years of experience around international cooperation and development effectiveness, having worked on peacekeeping missions, with the UNDP, and most recently in Angola and Burundi with the National Democratic Institute. He is also a professor of political philosophy.

Laurence Tubiana is founder of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in Paris. She is also professor and director of the Sustainable Development Center at Sciences Po Paris and professor at the Columbia University. In 2009/2010, she was in charge of setting up the new direction of Global Publics Goods of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. She is member of several scientific boards of main research institutions such as the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the Indian Sustainable Development Council and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment
and Development. From 1997 to 2002, Laurence Tubiana served as senior advisor to the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, on environmental issues and conducted a number of international negotiations on this subject. She was also member of the French Council of Economic Analysis and research director for the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). She has been a representative of the European NGOs at the World Bank and directed the French-based NGO Solagral. Founder of the journal Le Courrier de la Planète, she published a number of articles and books on environment, development and international issues. Since 2007, she has co-directed the publication of the annual review Sustainable Development in Action – A Planet for Life. Laurence Tubiana studied at the Institut d’Études politiques de Paris and holds a PhD in economics.

Staffan Nilsson’s personality, professional skills and commitment to civil society ideals, which the EESC has long nourished and has worked for over the years, led to his election as President of the European Economic and Social Committee on 20 October 2010. He is a staunch supporter of the EU, whose primary purpose is to bring lasting peace to the continent, and a tireless advocate of sustainable growth, which is the best way of financing a social model serving the common good of all Europeans, and of defending our values internationally. “Engaging people for a sustainable Europe” is Staffan’s political message for his term of office. He is politically committed to ensuring maximum civic engagement in Europe’s endeavours to foster environmental, economic and social sustainability. Nilsson is a veteran leader in the EESC. Before becoming President of the EESC, he was President of Group III (Various Interests) for six years, and Vice-president for another six. Since 1995, when he became a member of the EESC and Group III, he has actively contributed his expertise to the work of the EESC, mainly in the fields of agriculture, sustainable development and international cooperation. He has been rapporteur for opinions on the Soil Protection Framework Directive, the Communication on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, agriculture and food safety in the context of the Euromed partnership, and the Action plan for Environmental Technology – to mention but a few. He has been an active member of the EESC Joint Consultative Committees (JCCs) established with accession countries in the past, and he currently plays a key role in the EU-Turkey JCC and the Euromed Committee. An activist since his student years and now a prosperous farmer, Staffan Nilsson is a driving force for dialogue and inclusive development. Openness and cooperation are the hallmarks of this term.

Dr. in Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Geneva, graduate in Political sciences, in Law and in Sociology. Academic investigator and teacher in social and political sciences, in different Universities in Switzerland, France and Brazil (1989-2006); political personal advisor for City of Geneva (2007-). Member of the Les Verts – Parti écologiste genevois, and of the Swiss Green Party since 1989. Swiss delegate to the EFGP/EGP since 2003; and therefore member of the Swiss Greens Comity; deputy member of the Global Greens Coordination. Green MP of the Republic and Canton of Geneva 2003-2009). Worked in commissions: Transport, Human Rights, Political Rights, Post-Graduate Studies, Government Expenditure and Administration. Since 1985, is a Activist in anti-nuclear, pacifist /anti-war, human rights, housing, immigration associations and movements. Co-founder of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (1990). Participation and organization of workshops in European and World Social Forums, on the Relationship between social society and Universities or academic centres. Member of the Concil of the Fondation pour le Progrès de l’Homme (2006-).