Born in Paris, France, and recognized as a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a photographer, reporter and environmentalist specializing in wildlife and aerial photography. He has published over 60 books and his photographs have appeared in numerous publications around the world. In 2005, he founded the environmental organization, GoodPlanet, which helps individuals and businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency and use renewable energies. 

As the Minister of the Environment and International Development of Norway, Erik Solheim put into place the Nature Diversity Act and the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative, which facilitates close cooperation with Brazil, Indonesia and Guyana to conserve rainforests and provided critical input to the establishment of UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD).

Janine Benyus is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. She is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Since the book’s 1997 release, Janine’s work as a global thought leader has evolved the practice of biomimicry from a meme to a movement, inspiring clients and innovators around the world to learn from the genius of nature.

Kevin M. Conrad is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and environmentalist, whose efforts have centered on reducing deforestation, strengthening forest conservation and recognizing the value of tropical forest ecosystems. He has made a significant contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) especially the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN REDD) programme in developing countries. Conrad also represented Papua New Guinea during the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, where he urged the United States to take leadership on climate change.

In 2004, Ron Gonen co-founded Recyclebank, a company that brings together businesses, schools, communities and individuals to promote household recycling and more sustainable lifestyles. Under his direction, RecycleBank grew from its foundation to a company that services 50 cities and over 1 million households, thereby advancing environmental responsibility and recycling in the United States. To date, Recyclebank has helped to save 98 million gallons of oil and more than one million trees. 

Tena Kebena is a non-governmental organization in Ethiopia that brings together around 80 children and youth who have been mostly orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The group cleans up and rehabilitates garbage dumpsites around Addiss Ababa through reforestation. The sites are also used for urban agriculture and the herbal medicines obtained from it are sold to provide funding for the project and for the children’s learning activities. 

The steadfast, committed and selfless work of Dr. Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín has been vital for fostering the notions of sustainability amongst and raising the environmental awareness of Cubans.

She took on a position of leadership, which was to continue for some 20 years, just at a time when the issue of the environment was beginning to feature prominently in the political agenda of Governments and international organizations. She was able to witness, from a unique vantage point, a historic moment at the height of the environmental movement in its modern configuration – which places it in the context of development – and she was able to translate the best of those practices into everyday life in Cuba.

In 1989, she participated, for the first time, in the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose sixth meeting took place in Brasilia that year. Since then she has played a prominent role in subsequent regional forums and her presence has been widely recognized.

In addition to directing Cuba’s preparations for the Rio Summit, she also presided over this country’s distinguished delegation, comprising ministers and other dignitaries.

She always had a clear vision of the concept of “thinking globally and acting locally” and this same vision impelled her to attend negotiation meetings, at which she was able to meet the need to act within her own country while being able to speak with authority at every international forum.

In 1994 she participated in the development of the Alliance of Small Island States Summit (AOSIS). By that time, she was already an accomplished international mediator and was able to bring the experience which she had gained from her participation in the Rio Summit to bear on that forum, enriched by her years of valuable work at the national level from the perspective of a developing island State.

The ninth meeting of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Cuba in 1995. Under Elena Rosa’s presidency, this event marked a significant change in those forums, with a shift towards a more pragmatic approach in the way the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) dealt with environmental problems in the region.

Rosa Elena was in Kyoto in 1997, to participate in the discussion of the Protocol that bears that city’s name, a Protocol which was developed for the purpose of implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change.

She was elected a member of the Bureau of the UNEP Governing Council in 2000, in which office she demonstrated her astute judgement and experience.

She participated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa in 2002. Through her presence and pertinent statements she played a key role in ensuring the success of the most important contributions of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
 
In 2003, after her decisive role in the negotiation of its headquarters agreement, she presided over the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which took place in Havana.

Created under her direct supervision, the Cuban environmental system is based on key values and represents the outcome of a meticulous process of design and development, among which the following are particularly worthy of note:

• Clearly drawn up policies and strategies, which are being constantly improved and provided with the necessary follow-up arrangements;
• A conception of environmental management as the ability to implement environmental policy and to take specific measures in that regard, and to operate in coordination with all the bodies and agencies which are concerned with natural resources and have an influence on the sound use of the environment;
• A regulatory and control system with both national and local dimensions, and an acknowledged and growing capacity for the implementation of environmental legislation;
• A range of services and research, which are continuously expanding into new areas, including by enlisting the cooperation of recognized research bodies with the new environmental training centres, now operating in almost all areas of the country.

It is incumbent on those of us who are followers of the work of Elena Rosa to continue efforts to strengthen it, to follow her ideas and above all her actions, and to remember always her loyalty and respect for Fidel and Raul, as well as her great sensitivity to the wishes of the people.

Summary

WEDO, established in 1990 by former U.S. Congresswoman Bella Abzug (1920-1998) and feminist activist and journalist Mim Kelber (1922-2004), brings together women from all around the world to take action in the United Nations and other international policymaking forums. 
Since its inception, WEDO has been a leader in organizing women for international conferences and actions. As a lead up to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), WEDO organized the World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet. This Women’s Congress brought together more than 1,500 women from 83 countries to work jointly on a strategy for UNCED. The result of the Women’s Congress was Women’s Action Agenda 21, an outline for a healthy and peaceful planet that was the basis for introducing gender equality in the official UNCED final documents—Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration. This was an amazing feat that quickly positioned WEDO as a trailblazer in international women’s rights. 
WEDO has built on this experience by mobilizing women’s participation to establish the Women’s Caucus, which advances women’s perspectives at the UN and other forums by proposing amendments to official documents, lobbying delegates, and coordinating political actions. 
WEDO has organized and facilitated the Women's Caucus at key UN conferences such as: UN International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, Egypt, 1994; UN World Conference on Social Development (WSSD), Copenhagen, Denmark, 1995; UN Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW), Beijing, China, 1995, and UN World Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT), Istanbul, Türkiye, 1996. 
WEDO owes its successful global activism to its dynamic Board of Directors and Staff, a diverse group of experts and activists. 

Mission and Goals

WEDO is an international organization that advocates for women’s equality in global policy. It seeks to empower women as decision makers to achieve economic, social and gender justice, a healthy, peaceful planet and human rights for all. 
Through the organization’s program areas—Gender and Governance, Sustainable Development, Economic and Social Justice, and U.S. Global PolicyWEDO emphasizes women’s critical role in social, economic and political spheres. 
WEDO’s goals are to:
 
• Advance women’s equality in decision making by pushing for a gender-balance at local, national and global levels;

• Challenge the current economic system and promote a model that seeks to achieve human rights, economic and social justice, gender equality and poverty eradication; 

• Promote multilateralism and international cooperation to advance peace, human rights, and human security. 
In order to achieve these goals, WEDO does advocacy in key global forums such as the UN, supports the efforts of women’s organizations worldwide, and engages U.S. women on foreign policy.

Dr Tewolde Berhan was born on 19 February 1940 in a small village near Adwa town in Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. His father was an Orthodox priest and his mother the daughter of one of the founders of the Lutheran Church of Mekane Yesus who had originally been trained for priesthood in the Orthodox church. Both parents put a strong emphasis on education and Tewolde's fathers taught him to be fluent in Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, and Amharic as well as his mother tongue, Tigrinya, before he started formal schooling.

He joined Elementary School when he was 11 years old and then won a scholarship to the General Wingate School in Addis Ababa in 1955. On joining Addis Ababa University in 1959, he decided to study science rather than languages and was granted the Chancellor's Gold Medal when he graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology in 1963. In 1966, he left to study for a doctorate in plant ecology at the School of Plant Biology, University of North Wales, and returned as Ethiopia's first qualified plant ecologist in 1969.

From the time he graduated in 1963 until 1995, Dr Tewolde's academic base was in the Department of Biology of Addis Ababa University. His main responsibilities inside academia have been as Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1974 to 1978, and then Keeper of the National Herbarium from 1978 to 1983. It was during this period that the Ethiopian Flora Project was launched. This Project had twin aims: to develop a national capacity in plant systematics and a competent national institution for research and services in this field, and also to publish a modern Flora for the country. The first part of this aim has been achieved with the National Herbarium now having a senior staff of four doctorates in systematic botany, three in plant ecology, and an editorial office. The second aim of producing an eight volume Flora is still being realized with four volumes in print and two more in press. It was Dr Tewolde's foresight and planning that enabled this long-term project to be both successfully negotiated and maintained.

Dr Tewolde's other major post in academia was as President of Asmara University in what is now the independent country of Eritrea. During that period, he successfully negotiated a substantial grant for the development of tertiary science education, particularly in the applied fields of arid-zone agriculture, marine science, geology and some aspects of engineering.

His career has also involved responsibilities outside academia. Between 1972 and 1982 he was leader of the IDRC-UNU sponsored research project "Research and Development in Rural Settings". Ethiopia was one of six countries which contributed to this international Project. In 1991, he left Asmara University to take up the post of Director for the Ethiopian National Conservation Strategy Secretariat. During the four years he was in post, a National Conservation Strategy was developed and debated in a participatory manner at all the main levels of government culminating in a National Conference where the final draft documents were debated and amended before being submitted to the Government for approval. As from March 1995, Dr Tewolde has been the General Manager for Ethiopia's environmental watchdog, the Environmental Protection Authority.

Internationally, Dr Tewolde participated in the negotiations for the Convention on Biological Diversity, finalized in 1992. He led the African and Like-Minded Group in negotiations for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety finally agreed in January 2000 and was a Bureau member for the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture agreed in FAO in November 2001. He has also worked with the African Union (previously the Organization of African Unity) in the development of two model laws: one for the Protection of the Rights of Communities, Farmers and Breeders, and for the Control of Access to Biological Resources, and the other called the African Model Law for Safety in Biotechnology.

In December 2000, Dr Tewolde was awarded a Right Livelihood Award for his leadership in the biosafety negotiations, and for his work in developing and promoting community and farmers’ rights.

His responsibilities in government have involved him in representing Ethiopia in several international fora as well as preparing official documents and reports. The following are the most significant:

• Ethiopian Country Report for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), 1992.
• Ethiopian representative in the UNCED negotiating team in Geneva, New York and Rio de Janeiro; played important roles in developing the chapter on Mountains Development, Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, 1991-92.
• Co-Chairman, Panel 4, established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to study the issue of biosafety and biotechnology as a follow-up of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992-93.
• Negotiator for Ethiopia, Convention on Biological Diversity and in the debate of the developing countries on biodiversity and biotechnology, 1992 to date, and Convention on Desertification, 1994 to date.
• Chief negotiator (spokesperson) of the African Group, and Bureau Member in the Revision of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, 1997-to date.
• Ethiopia’s negotiator, chief negotiator (spokesperson) of the African and Like-Minded Group and Bureau Member in the Biosafety Working Group negotiations on a Biosafety Protocol for the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1996, to when it was concluded in January 2000.

Dr Tewolde has produced over 30 publications from both original research and analysis of interactions between society and environment in Ethiopia's history as well as internationally.

Source: http://www.ces.fe.uc.pt/emancipa/cv/gen/egziabher.html

Dr. Mohamed T. El- Ashry currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation. Prior to joining the foundation, Dr. El-Ashry served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). He served as the GEF Chairman between 1991 and 2002, and was appointed the first CEO and Chairman of the GEF in 1994. Under his leadership, GEF grew from a pilot program with less than 30 members to the largest single source of funding for the global environment with 173 member countries. In 2002, donors cast an extraordinary vote of confidence by replenishing GEF's trust fund by nearly $3 billion-the largest amount ever.

Dr. El-Ashry came to the GEF from the World Bank, where he was the Chief Environmental Advisor to the President and Director of the Environment Department. Prior to joining the World Bank, he served as Senior Vice President of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and as Director of Environmental Quality with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He has held teaching and research positions at Cairo University, Pan-American-U.A.R. Oil Company, Illinois Geological Survey, Wilkes University, and the Environmental Defense Fund. He has also served as Senior Environmental Adviser to UNDP, as Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), and as a member of the World Water Commission.

Dr. El-Ashry received his Bachelor od Science degree with honors in 1959 from Cairo University and his doctorate degree in geology in 1966 from the University of Illinois. He has received numerous international awards and honors and is the author of three books and more than 200 papers.

Dr. El-Ashry is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is listed in "American Men and Women of Science" and "Men of Achievement".