8 June 2016: Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), was appointed co-chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP), a body of natural resource scientists and experts hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Bárcena will co-chair the panel with Janez Potočnik, former EU Commissioner for the Environment and IRP co-chair since 2014.

Bárcena replaces Ashok Khosla, who is stepping down as co-chair but who will remain as an IRP member. The appointment was announced on 8 June 2016, during the 18th meeting of the IRP in Cape Town, South Africa.

UNEP set up the IRP in 2007 to build and share the knowledge required to improve the use of resources. The Panel is comprised of eminent scientists and experts in natural resource management issues. The IRP provides independent, coherent and authoritative scientific studies and assessments on the sustainable use and management of natural resources and their environmental impacts. It addresses such topics as biofuels, metal recycling, international trade in natural resources, sustainable land use, food systems and decoupling resource use from environmental degradation. [UN Press Release] [IRP Website]