Speaker Bio

H.E. Mrs. Giovanna Valverde Stark is the Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica in Kenya and Permanent Representative to UN agencies, UNEP and UN -Habitat. Amb. Giovanna Valverde Stark is the current President /Chair of Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC) Nairobi Chapter.

Amb. Giovanna Valverde is an economist, has an MBA and a master´s in microfinance. She has been a diplomat for the past 20 years and in that capacity has focused on sustainable development in public policies for the agricultural, environmental and trade sectors. She has extensive experience in climate change (UNFCCC and work on the ground), sustainable agriculture and in circular economy, particularly waste management. Prior to entering the foreign service, her work in the private sector was centered on renewable energies, namely wind farms

Amb. Giovanna Valverde Stark is currently the co-chair of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) and is also the Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental consultations on Nature based Solutions, pursuant to UNEA resolution 5/5 entitled ‘Nature-based solutions for supporting sustainable development’.