
Biography
Abisha Mapendembe is a Senior Programme Officer at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). He focuses on integrating biodiversity and development into policy, planning, decision-making, budgeting, and implementation processes for national governments and intergovernmental agreements. He also leads a portfolio of projects at the science-policy-practice interface, engaging with a wide network of international, regional, and national partners to accelerate the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals. Abisha has extensive knowledge of policy and institutional contexts for natural conservation and sustainable development in Africa. He also has an impressive array of active networks and contacts within the United Nations System, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), national governments in Africa, NGOs, and civil society organisations in the region. As a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Extended Consultative Network on Mainstreaming of Biodiversity, Abisha provided guidance on the development of a Long-Term Approach to Mainstreaming Biodiversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Package. Abisha’s previous experience includes working as an International Projects Officer at Birdlife International, an International Development Policy Officer at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and a Researcher at Fauna and Flora International and the Center for International Forestry Research. He holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Bath, an MA in Environmental Policy and Planning, and a BA Honours degree in Geography from the University of Zimbabwe.