The Secretary-General
On 1 January 2025, Ms. Leticia Reis de Carvalho assumed office as the fourth Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), following her election on 2 August 2024. Her appointment marks a new chapter in the ISA’s leadership, bringing with it decades of experience in global environmental governance, multilateral negotiations and regulatory innovation.
A seasoned United Nations diplomat, Ms. Carvalho previously served as Special Adviser to the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on freshwater ecosystems. Prior to that role, she led the UNEP Marine and Freshwater Branch, where she championed sustainable marine resource management and promoted the blue economy on a global scale.
Ms. Carvalho’s extensive regulatory experience spans offshore industries, particularly within the oil and gas sector. She has worked on critical risk management initiatives, environmental impact assessments and the development of contingency and emergency plans to address oil spills, toxic substances and tailings (mining by-products) management. Her expertise in these areas has helped shape regulatory frameworks for offshore activities, ensuring that industry operations comply with high standards of environmental, human health and operational safety.
In her leadership roles, Ms. Carvalho has advanced ocean governance, championed marine spatial planning and integrated ecosystem-based management into global policy frameworks. She has been instrumental in the development of key ocean and freshwater resolutions at UNEA-6 and has advocated for ocean literacy, strengthening ocean-related policies across UNEP and its Member States.
With in-depth experience in multilateralism and diplomacy, Ms. Carvalho has served as the lead negotiator, Chair and a Secretary for numerous international agreements, including those related to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Convention on Chemicals and Waste and the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Her work has centred on the protection of marine ecosystems, sustainable marine resources management and the prevention of marine pollution while also balancing the needs and interests of various sectors, including extractive industries.
As Director of Environmental Quality at the Ministry of the Environment of Brazil, Ms. Carvalho led initiatives related to environmental risk management, including the development of national policies for marine spatial planning and marine resources management, as well as regulatory frameworks for the protection of ecosystems from emissions and releases of pollutants.
Ms. Carvalho has published extensively on marine and coastal policies, international environmental law and the protection of marine ecosystems. An oceanographer by training, she holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Brasília.