New York (IANS) United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Satya S. Tripathi of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

He will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago to whom the Secretary‑General is grateful for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure.

Mr. Tripathi has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP.  A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of experience, Mr. Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs.

Previously, he was the Director and Executive Head of the United Nations Office for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries Coordination in Indonesia, as well as for the United Nations Recovery Coordinator for the $7 billion post-tsunami and post-conflict recovery efforts in Aceh and Nias.  He participated as Chair of the Committees on Laws and Treaties for the United Nations-mediated Cyprus unification talks in 2004.

Earlier in his career he acted as a Senior Distinguished Fellow on Natural Resources Governance with the World Agroforestry Centre and on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on Forests.

Mr. Tripathi holds honours, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in commerce; and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law from Berhampur University, India.