UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania as the next executive secretary of the the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The UN chief made the announcement after consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

He will succeed Monique Barbut of France to whom the secretary-general is grateful for her outstanding commitment and dedicated service to the organization, Dujarric said.

Thiaw brings to the position almost 40 years of experience in sustainable development, environmental governance and natural resource management. He is currently special adviser to the secretary-general for the Sahel.

Prior to this position, from 2013 to 2018, Thiaw was deputy executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), where he played a key role in shaping the organization's strategic vision, mid-term strategy and program of work, and strengthened collaborations with governments and other environmental governing bodies, including the UN Environmental Assembly.

He joined the UN in 2007 as director of the Division for Environmental Policy Implementation in UNEP.

Prior to joining the United Nations, he worked at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the regional director for West Africa and later as acting director general.

Thiaw started his career in his home country, Mauritania, where he served for 10 years in the ministry of rural development.

He holds an advanced degree in forestry and forest product techniques. Enditem

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