Rapha\u00ebl Goulet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRapha\u00ebl Goulet<\/strong> is Head of Unit for International Ocean Governance, Law of the Sea and Arctic policy in the Directorate General for maritime affairs and fisheries of the European Commission since 2020. Before that, he headed the unit for public interest services in the Directorate General for internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs. Between 1996 and 2016, he held various positions in the Directorate General for regional and urban policy in charge of regional development programmes (ERDF) in Germany, pre-accession infrastructure projects (ISPA) in Latvia. He became Assistant to the Director General in 2002, and headed then different units for strategic planning and inter-institutional relations, for information, communication and international relations, and for Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany and the Netherlands. Rapha\u00ebl Goulet graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and from the Free University (political science and economics) in Berlin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\nSinikinesh Beyene Jimma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSinikinesh Beyene Jimma<\/strong> is Chief of Marine and International Waters Unit in the Ecosystems Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She provides strategic leadership on portfolio of programmes and projects across the world for conservation of coastal and marine ecosystem, advancing sustainable blue economy, ocean governance as well as integrated management of transboundary water resources and their ecosystem. Before this position, she has served as Chief of International Waters Unit and lead the design and implementation of programmes and projects funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) that substantively supported the Regional Seas to deliver their mandates, among others. She serves in various Executive Boards and Steering Committees, including GEF SGP Steering Committee member, an alternate Executive Board member for Global Fund for Coral Reef (GFCR), Board Chair Horn Center for Democracy, Executive Board member for African Centre for DRM as well as for Landmine Servicers Network. Sinikinesh holds MSc in Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation for Natural Resources Management from ITC, The Netherlands and MBA from Australian Institute of Business (AIB).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nDavid Obura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDavid Obura<\/strong> is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, a knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean. CORDIO takes research to management and policy, builds capacity, and works with stakeholders, managers and policy makers. David\u2019s primary research is on coral reef resilience, in particular to climate change, and the biogeography of the Indian Ocean.\u00a0At the boundary between science and action, David works to integrate conservation and development through inclusive blue economy principles and links provided by global sustainability goals and targets. He works from the local scale, through fostering innovative action to promote sustainability, through regional scale alignment and integration, to global scales, bringing knowledge and local-regional practice into decision-making contexts. David serves on the Earth Commission (2019-2022), contributing to describing a \u2018safe and just corridor\u2019 into the future, for people and planet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nAnna Popova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnna Popova<\/strong> is an International Relations Officer in the International Ocean Governance, Law of the Sea and Arctic Policy Unit of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission since 2024. Previously, she held various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, including as Counsellor and Legal Adviser of the Bulgarian Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels and First Secretary at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna. Anna Popova has diverse experience in the area of international and EU law and international relations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\nDixon Waruinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDixon Waruinge<\/strong>, a Kenyan national, joined United Nations Environment Programme\u00a0 in 2001 and for over 20 years he has gained experience in the management of Multilateral Environmental Agreements, as the\u00a0Head of the Secretariat of the Nairobi and Abidjan Convention and as the Coordinator for the Nairobi Convention. He has worked for, and with governments, non-governmental organization, and research institution on project design, implementation and coordination, in the diverse fields of, wildlife management, biodiversity assessment and monitoring, biodiversity information management, community biodiversity conservation, environmental impact assessment\u00a0for many\u00a0states in Africa. He has managed many complex projects and has comprehensive understanding of oceans governance. He has developed partnerships and cooperative agreements with global NGOs such as WWF, IUCN; Regional Economic Commissions such as the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC); and research institutions, such as Western Indian Ocean Marine Scientist Association (WIOMSA). As the Coordinator for the Nairobi Convention, He has guided the Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention in the preparation and adoption of several legal and policy instruments for coastal and ocean governance, including the Revised Nairobi Convention and a new protocol on Land-based sources and activities.<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n