Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner is the current Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He previously served as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) from March 2009 to May 2011. Before joining UNEP, he served as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) from 2001 to 2006, and prior to that as Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams. His professional career has included assignments with governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations in different parts of the world including India, Pakistan, Germany, Zimbabwe, USA, Vietnam, South Africa, Switzerland, and Kenya. He has worked both at the grassroots level and at the highest levels of international policymaking to address the interface between environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic development.