COBSEA Announces its New Coordinator

COBSEA Announces its New Coordinator
UNEP’s Executive Director announces the appointment of Mr. Mahesh Pradhan as the Coordinator of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). He assumed this position on 1 June 2022 and will be based in Bangkok, Thailand. Over the past year, Mr. Pradhan has been serving as interim COBSEA coordinator, while concurrently leading UNEP’s work on nutrients through the Global Partnership on Nutrient Management based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr. Pradhan brings extensive experience in international environmental management, having served in UNEP for nearly three decades. He is an expert in regional and sub-regional environmental governance, holistic waste management, as well as environmental education and capacity building. He served in UNEP’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok for over 16 years and subsequently led UNEP’s Environmental Education and Training Unit in Headquarters for 5 years. In Japan, he served in UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Center (IETC) and thereafter in the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) at UNEP Headquarters.
As Coordinator of COBSEA, Mr. Pradhan will further lead the COBSEA Secretariat to work closely with the National Focal Points of the participating countries toward a healthy marine and coastal environment in the East Asian Seas region.