Victoria ELIAS is Chair of the
Coordination Board of the Pan-European ECO-Forum - the Environmental NGO
Coalition of the UN-ECE region and deputy director of the Center for Environment
and Sustainable Development 'Eco-Accord'. Victoria coordinates projects and is
engaged in research and training. She is also a representative in the UN-CSD NGO
Steering Committee and Management Committee for Eastern Europe and the Newly
Independent States (NIS), serves on boards of several international NGO' and
multistakeholder networks. Ms. Elias was the NGO representative on the Russian
delegation to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in 1998 and 1999. She
coordinated NGO position paper preparation and participation in the
multistakeholder dialogue session on tourism and local communities at UN CSD-7
(1999), NIS focal point in preparation to the 4th Ministerial Conference 'Environment
for Europe' (1997-1998), other processes, as well as ECO-Accord information
service on global problems 'GLOBAL-INFO'. She is actively involved in Rio
process. Working on issues of public participation in environmental
decision-making at different levels, she had carried out a number of studies,
prepared the chapter on developing public support and responsible behavior in
regard to wildlife for the Russian National Strategy and National Action Plan
for biodiversity conservation. Victoria is the co-author of recently published
Tool-kits for environmental NGOs on public participation and lobbying, has a
number of publications. Interests of Ms.Elias are related to sustainable
development, global governance and informed multistakeholder participation in
decision-making process at different levels, public awareness and environmental
education. She also has experience on water and tourism issues. Ms.Elias has
obtained Master Degree in Biology and Ecology from Moscow Lomonosov State
University. She has been trained additionally on ecotoxicology and NGO
management.