Ms. Laverne Walker, a Saint Lucian national, has over 25 years of experience in coastal and marine management, governance, and sustainable development, with a focus on small island developing States. She has worked with the Government of Saint Lucia, UNOPS, UNDP/GEF CLME and CLME+ Projects, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, she serves as Programme Management Officer for Marine Pollution at UNEP’s Cartagena Convention Secretariat. Laverne holds a Marine Biology degree and a Master’s in Marine Management from Dalhousie University, Canada, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
CEP was established in 1981 as part of the Regional Seas Programme in recognition of the importance and value of the Wider Caribbean Region’s fragile and vulnerable coastal and marine ecosystems including endemic plants and animals.