Former tourism director Sem Shikongo has been appointed as the new senior programme manager on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) at the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity.
This was announced by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity of United Nations Environment Programme in Canada last week.
“I am pleased to announce that Sem Shikongo has been appointed as the new senior programme manager on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) at the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity. Some of you may have already had the opportunity to work with him, as he was one of the lead negotiators leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010. I am happy to welcome him back in the access and benefit-sharing community,” Mrema said.
Approached for comment on his appointment, Shikongo said he is a servant of the people.
“Humanity is everywhere, and I am now given a privilege to serve humanity, the environment and the diversity of life that sustains life on earth, including that of humanity. The spirit of the creator will guide me through the spirit of this ageless land Namibia and the spirit of the Namibian ancestors who showed us the way that we must walk. Namibian, I remain,” he noted.
Mrema thanked Worku Damena Yifru for taking up the challenge of leading the ABS team and functions in the interim, as well as many other colleagues who supported the ABS team during this biennium so it could fulfil its mandate.
Mrema said Shikongo and his team would reach out in the coming weeks to regional groups and ABS national focal points to discuss opportunities, ideas and challenges, if any, of relevance to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol.
The secretariat expressed confidence that Shikongo and his team will do their best to assist in moving forward the third objective of the convention and the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the context of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. – anakale@nepc.com.na