ONet congratulates David Obura on his election as IPBES Chair

On 2nd September 2023, the tenth IPBES plenary elected Dr David Obura from Kenya as the next IPBES Chair. ONet warmly congratulates David on his election. He recently attended #IPBES10 Stakeholder Day, as did outgoing IPBES Chair Ana María Hernández Salgar. To our delight, she has called the conference "fruitful and fantastic." We thank them both for their outspoken support of stakeholder engagement with IPBES.

Dr David Obura is an expert in coral reef resilience and the biogeography of the Indian Ocean. He is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, a knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean. David also chairs the IUCN Coral Specialist Group, and serves at the Earth Commission and the CBD Secretariat, among other institutions. For David's full biography see CORDIO East Africa.

At IPBES, David has served as a Coordinating Lead Author for the Global Assessment and as an Expert for the IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop on biodiversity and climate change. He is currently serving as a Chair for the Nexus Assessment. At ONet, we wish him a most successful term in office as IPBES Chair!

Ana María Hernández Salgar is an expert for the science-policy interface. She has extensive experience for example in Colombia's government, at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute for Biological Resources.

At IPBES, she has served as a National Focal Point and as a supervisor for a Technical Support Unit. She was elected IPBES Chair following her distinguished career with the Bureau. At ONet, we wholeheartedly thank her for her two terms in office.

Photos by IISD/ENB:
Anastasia Rodopoulou
Mike Muzurakis