To participate in the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (COP-10), Mr. Luc Gnacadja (Benin), Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will visit Nagoya from 22 to 29 October.

UNCCD and CBD, along with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), are called “three Rio Conventions”, sprouting out of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Gnacadja will welcome interview opportunities to explain the important linkages among desertification/land degradation, biodiversity and climate change. For more information, contact:

-Yukie Hori, UNCCD- Wagaki Mwangi, UNCCD
E-mail: yhori@unccd.int E-mail: wmwangi@unccd.int
Mobile: +49 173 268 7590 Tel: +49 228 815 2820

Profile of Mr. Luc Gnacadia

Luc Gnacadja is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. He assumed the position in October 2007 and is currently servicing his second term (2010-2013).
Born in Benin, Mr. Gnacadja is an architect by profession, having graduated from the African School of Architecture and Urbanism in Lome. He is also the successful CEO of a consultancy firm and an accomplished manager, honing his skills at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and the World Bank Training Institute.
Before taking up his position as UNCCD Executive Secretary, Mr. Gnacadja served as Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development of Benin from 1999 to 2005. He gained first-hand knowledge of the UNCCD process over a number of years in his capacity as Head of Delegation to the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD.
Mr. Gnacadja was also Head of Delegation to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. His pronounced leadership qualities enabled him at the national level to initiate and build synergies between the Rio Conventions, in conjunction with the National Commission on Sustainable Development.
He has served as Chairman of several international ministerial Conferences, meetings and workshops related to the environment, urban and regional development, and sustainable development, including the African Ministers Conference on Environment and the Commission on Sustainable Development.
In March 2003, Mr. Gnacadja was honoured with the “2002 Green Award” in Washington by the World Bank.