About
Us
Clifton Curtis
Varda Group Director
Clif Curtis joined the Varda Group in late-March
2006, having previously been director of WWF
International’s Global Toxics Programme
(1998-2006), senior US-based political advisor
and strategist on oceans for Greenpeace International
(1991-1998), expert-on-mission at the UN Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(1990-1991), head of the Oceanic Society (1985-1989)
and environmental activist with other NGO
and public interest law firm affiliations
dating back to the early 1970s.
During his time at WWF, he led the organisation’s
participation in the Stockholm
POPs Convention negotiations, and has
more recently overseen its “DetoX”
Campaign in support of environmentally
sound and robust EU (REACH) chemical policy
reforms. He initiated the Africa
Stockpiles Programme, in collaboration
with the Pesticides Action Network, bringing
together the international community, national
governments, the private sector and NGOs to
rid Africa of existing, obsolete pesticide
stockpiles and help prevent future accumulations.
US $60 million has been committed to that
effort as of 2006.
As a political advisor to Greenpeace, he played
a key role during the negotiations of the
UN
Fish Stocks Agreement, helping to ensure
that precaution was embedded as a core tenet
in fishing practices.
He was the lead NGO voice in persuading the
U.S. to become a vocal proponent of the global
ban on ocean dumping of radioactive wastes
adopted in 1993; and while directing the Oceanic
Society he coordinated the national environmental
community’s position on oil spill legislation
following the Exxon Valdez 1989 oil spill
in Alaska, which led to the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990.
Clif has been involved in numerous multilateral
environmental agreement negotiations (e.g.,
fisheries, oil spill liability and compensation,
ocean dumping, chemicals, Antarctica, land-based
sources of marine pollution, 1992 Rio Declaration,
Law of the Sea, 2002 Johannesburg WSSD Plan
of Implementation). Among other US-focused
activities, he has testified on more than
50 occasions before committees of the U.S.
Congress. Throughout his career he has worked
to strengthen and expand public participation
opportunities in decision making, and has
provided high-quality representation to under-
and un-represented victims of environmental
abuse.
Upon joining the Varda Group as a director in March 2006, Clif became Project Director for the Antarctic Krill Campaign, an exciting, new marine biodiversity initiative coordinated by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a US-based foundation, in cooperation with several funders. Having directed that important initiative full-time during its start up and first year of engagement with key Antarctic fisheries treaty parties, Clif departed the Trusts on July 31st, 2007, and he now works full-time as a Varda Group director.”
Clif received a B.S. degree from Michigan
State University and a law degree from George
Washington University's National Law Center,
in the U.S. He and his family live in Washington,
D.C. |
