Former NIMASA Director, Felicia Mogo, bags UN appointment

The United Nations (UN) has appointed Dr (Mrs) Felicia Mogo as a member of a group of experts for the regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment and socio-economic activities. It is a-four year tenured appointment.

According to Dr Mogo in a short statement of confirmation to the media, “With a very grateful heart to God Almighty, I wish to inform you of my appointment by UN headquarters, New York, United States of America on an African seat as a Group of Experts member (Experts on Mission).

“UN Regular Process on Global Assessment of the marine environment and socio-economic. It is quite an iconic position and I am humbled to be found qualified for that by God’s grace,” she added.

Aslo, in a terse statement from the global body, the UN stated that, “During her discharge of duties to the UN, Dr Mogo would join other experts on mission for a period of four years (2021-2025) to oversee the preparation of assessment(s) of the state of the marine environment and socioeconomic aspects.”

The group of experts for the first cycle was established in 2012 and the group of experts for the second cycle was constituted in 2016. The work of the group of experts for the third cycle 2021-2025 is currently on, the statement noted.

The appointment is part of the efforts by the UN to ensure the preservation of the  marine environment, enhance geographical and gender inclusiveness.

Dr Mogo is a Nigerian and environmental expert who retired as a Director at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and has been a member of various committees on environment at the global level.

The groups of experts are usually saddled with the task of any assessments within the framework of the ‘Regular Process’ at the request of the UN General Assembly under the supervision of the Ad-hoc working group of the whole.

Appointed on her personal capacity as an expert on mission, Dr Mogo would join other group members in activities, which include “Overseeing the preparation of assessment(s) of the state of the marine environment, socio economic aspect, development and implementation of the capacity-building programmes, the outreach and engagement strategy.

“The Regular Process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects is a global mechanism established by states after the 2002 United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Regular Process is an intergovernmental process guided by international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other applicable international instruments,” the statement added.

The Regular Process is aimed at regularly reviewing the environmental, economic and social aspects of the state of the world’s oceans, both current and foreseeable. Its purpose is to contribute to the strengthening of the regular scientific assessment of the state of the marine environment in order to enhance the scientific basis for policy making.

In 2003, the General Assembly set in motion the first steps to set up the Regular Process (58/240) by requesting the Secretary-General to convene a group of experts to produce a draft document with details on the scope, general framework and outline of the regular process, peer review, secretariat, capacity-building and funding.

Speaking with her, Dr Mogo expressed gratitude to the officials of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Abiodun Richards Adejola, for their support, adding, “Kindly thank God and pray for wisdom for me to have a productive tenure.”