Alberto Pacheco Capella is the Chief of the Regional Seas Branch at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He leads the world’s largest legal and institutional framework for the protection and sustainable management of the marine and coastal environment, coordinating 18 Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans that unite more than 146 countries through the Regional Seas Programme. His role focuses on strengthening governance frameworks, advancing regional cooperation, and ensuring that ocean action contributes directly to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Global Framework on Chemicals, the Paris Agreement, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
With over 18 years of service at UNEP, Alberto has held leadership and advisory positions at the global, regional, and national levels. He was most recently the Representative of the Sub-Regional Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America, and Representative a.i. for Brasil, where he engaged with governments, civil society, and the private sector to accelerate climate action, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable economic transitions. From 2019 to 2022, he worked as Special Assistant to the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, managing organizational priorities, supporting the governance of UNEP, and advising on intergovernmental negotiations during sessions of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). Between 2015 and 2019, he was Coordinator of the Regional Biodiversity and Ecosystems Subprogramme at the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and focal point for Multilateral Environmental Agreements, where he strengthened cooperation on biodiversity, ecosystems, and sustainable resource management.
He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from Lund University in Sweden and a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the Metropolitan University of Venezuela, and has pursued executive studies at the London School of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Copenhagen Business School.
