13 November 2012: Angela Cropper, former Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), passed away on 12 November 2012. Throughout Cropper’s international career, she also served as the first Executive Secretary to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and as Senior Adviser on Environment and Development at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Bureau for Development Policy.
A statement by Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, said that while serving as the first Executive Secretary, from 1993-1995, “it was the vision and energy of Angela that propelled the international community towards protecting the variety of life on our planet today.” Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, described her life of service and support for international organizations. “Her profound sense of integrity, her unambiguous view of what is right and wrong and her uncompromising willingness to challenge injustice and inequity wherever she encountered it earned her the respect and admiration of people and organisations across the world,” wrote Steiner.
Cropper was a native of Trinidad and Tobago, where she served as a member of the Senate of the Parliament. In addition to her leadership within the UN, Cropper also worked with the Caribbean Community and Common Market Secretariat (CARICOM), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Millennium Assessment Panel; was 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; and was a recipient of the Zayed Prize for Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society. Cropper, along with her husband John, founded The Cropper Foundation in 2000 to promote inclusive sustainable development and the equitable use of natural resources. [Memorial to Angela Cropper] [The Cropper Foundation] [Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Article] [UNEP Statement] [CBD Statement] [Convention on Migratory Species Statement] [UN University Statement] [IISD Statement]