Sálvano Briceño , Director of the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction , (UN/ISDR) 

Sálvano Briceño was appointed as the first Director of the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in June 2001.

His career spans over several decades and has focused on the management of environmental and sustainable development programmes at the United Nations, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Government of Venezuela.

Prior to joining UN/ISDR, Mr. Briceño was the Coordinator of the BIOTRADE and GHG Emissions Trading Initiatives of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva (1999-2001). Before that, he was Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) secretariat (1996-1999), following several years as the Coordinator of Intergovernmental and Institutional Support of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) where he was responsible for assisting the Executive Secretary with management; legal; information support, external relations and interagency relations of the organization (1991-1996). Further UN experience includes five years with UNEP as the first Coordinator of the Caribbean Environment Programme at Kingston, Jamaica, where he collaborated closely with the Pan-Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Programme (1987-1991).

Earlier in his career, Mr. Briceño joined the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as the Executive Officer of IUCN's Commission on Education, where he focused on environmental education programmes and coordinated a worldwide network of experts (1985-1987). During the 1980s he worked as Research Associate at Harvard University's Energy and Environment Policy Center, following an active career with the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources in Venezuela where he was Director General responsible for environmental education, professional development and international relations (1978-1983).

Mr. Briceño received a Doctorate in Administrative Law from the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Sorbonne) in 1975 and a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1984. A Venezuelan national, his languages are Spanish, French and English.