The UN Environment Programme's Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity has appointed Dr Sem Shikongo as the new Senior Programme Manager on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS). This was revealed in a recent letter from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity to stakeholders in the industry. In her letter, the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema welcomed Dr Shikongo back to the secretariat where he was one the lead negotiators that resulted in the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. Dr Shikongo and his team will be working with regional groups and ABS National Focal Points to discuss opportunities, ideas and challenges to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the context of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. He is taking over from Worku Damena Yifru, who had been leading the ABS team and functions in the interim. Before his appointment to the UN body, Shikongo was the Director of Tourism and Gaming in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, a position he served for 13 years.