Catherine Stoneman has more than 16 years of experience in promoting social and environmental issues in development cooperation policies. She has a unique track record in liaising with environmental agencies, donor organisations and beneficiaries in Europe and developing countries. She has implemented three different contracts for European Commission's DG Environment:
1. As Team Leader of a European Commission DG Environment contract, Ms. Stoneman is currently organising annual Information Sessions on the LIFE+ Programme in all 27 EU Member States. For the fourth consecutive year, Ms. Stoneman is leading a consortium consisting of around 40 external experts across the EU.
2. Previously, she was Coordinator of the external communications team responsible for the communication of the LIFE Programme, including the LIFE website, the Focus publication series, the Natura 2000 newsletter and the monthly electronic newsletter LIFEnews.
3. From 2001 to 2005, she was Coordinator of the external monitoring team for the LIFE Third Countries Programme, assisting DG Environment in evaluating and monitoring the implementation of over 70 projects in more than 15 countries in the Mediterranean and Baltic regions. Most projects focussed on capacity building in a variety of environmental issues, from pollution control or solid waste management to coastal zone conservation and environmental regulation.
For DG Development, Ms. Stoneman carried out successful assignments in other parts of the world, including Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Peru, Senegal and Sri Lanka. Familiar with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, Ms. Stoneman relies strongly on a participatory approach to the environment and has facilitated several international seminars and workshops in developing countries and Europe.
Before joining STELLA, Ms. Stoneman specialised in the elaboration of environmental policies, practical guidelines and awareness-raising activities, focusing primarily on natural resources and biodiversity. For example, with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), she helped the European Commission develop its Biodiversity Action Plan for Development Cooperation. Her work involved marrying existing EC policies, commitments to the UN Convention on Biodiversity, and the views and experience of partners in developing countries. In addition, this work was a model for consultation and participation of EC partners in the development of EC policy, including identification of best practice and lessons learned. |
Ms. Stoneman has published a number of papers on biodiversity, tropical forests, and sustainable development, including a chapter in the EU Tropical Forestry Sourcebook in 1998 and Guiding Principles for Biodiversity in Development: Lessons from Field Projects in 2001. She has mother tongue English, fluent French, and some knowledge of Spanish and Dutch. |
