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September 2009
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She’s Got The Whole World In Her Hands
Where were you born? What was your childhood like? I was born in Aranjuez, though I have no recollection of that period of my life. I grew up mainly in Princes Town and Penal; we moved back and forth. [I grew up] within a very large family: 11 siblings, from three marriages of my mother; who over her lifetime was widowed three times. Circumstances were always very lean, not destitute, because my mother found ways to be a single parent in between marriages and to keep her large household together. In [such] a very large household everyone had a contribution to make, and did so, as my mother was pretty strict. Nothing exceptional about my childhood: sparse in terms of material provisions; many and large family gatherings; restricted in terms of leisure activities and opportunities to “do” things, like develop skills and talents; made do with little. I elected to do Economics when I had the opportunity to go to UWI because I wanted to contribute to changing the world, especially to removing poverty and inequity. I thought that as an Economist I might be able to influence Development. I was soon corrected of this fantasy when the first job as an Economist required me to be preoccupied with the “internal rate of return” for entrepreneurs and my disposition to assess social and environmental dimensions of the business activity was not appreciated. I concluded that the discipline was too narrow for me (especially for a person who was tutored by Lloyd Best) and I deserted that profession. However, the intellectual framework of Economics remains with me to this day and I have drawn upon it indirectly in the course of my career. When I was at the CAR ICOM Secretariat as Director of its Division of Functional Cooperation (which was a very diverse portfolio) I enjoyed the context of working within a broad set of intellectual domains, and especially exploring how they interrelated. I then added to the portfolio the area of Environment and Development—I could see the intrinsic linkages and the way in which this relationship would be so vital for Caribbean development. I guess it is from my CAR ICOM portfolio that it crystallised for me that I enjoyed “making the linkages,” thinking broadly rather than disciplinarily. And I made the conscious decision that I would want to develop the lateral thinking skills, seeing the whole not just one or other part. The subject of Sustainable Development added dimensions of equity, poverty, participation and governance, to the issues strictly of Economics, or Environment, or to Environment and Development. That is where I have focused since then. I then realised over time that most of the professional community thinks in a sectoral or disciplinary way; and so the added value I came to bring to many discussions is the lateral, holistic thinking about Development that goes beyond meeting present material needs for those who can afford and devil take those left behind. Not surprising that upon retirement from the United Nations system and [my] return home, when my husband and I set up The Cropper Foundation, the first major substantive event we did was an international conference on “Development as if Equity Mattered.” So, no, the path is not straightforward. Intellectually, the Environment and Development portfolio is very complex, the issues are challenging and urgent, and they are of vital importance to a form of development that is sustainable and equitable. How did I get to this position? I guess precisely because I do not fit a single disciplinary mode of thinking or analysing. It is this background and tendency, coupled with objectivity and balance, for which I have, I think, become known internationally, and for which I have been invited to serve on many policy processes and the governance bodies of major global organisations concerned with Sustainable Development. All my professional occupations since the early eighties are in this field, whether in policy or management. It is the breadth of undertaking that I think appealed to the recruiters for the position that might have motivated them to seek me out. However, agreeing to be considered and accepting the job were motivated for me by a very, very personal consideration. The colleague who is the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme had served with the World Conservation Congress (IUCN) at the same time as me, and we knew each other from the early nineties. When I served at UNDP at its Headquarters in New York, he served in Washington DC for IUCN at its DC Office. We kept a close axis. When he served as the Secretary- General of the World Dams Commission, located in Cape Town, South Africa, I responded to his need for help and went out to help him on a short-term assignment basis. He then became Director-General of the World Conservation Union. So I knew his ability and integrity, and that for him UNEP would not be business as usual, but that it might be exciting to partner with him in this enterprise. Also, I felt that issues of Environment and Development had come to a new and interesting juncture: surely the political leaders and policy makers could no longer bury their heads in the sand—perhaps it would be an opportune moment for intensifying the effort. But more than the above: on December 22, 2001, this colleague (who was still with IUCN at the time) was already on Christmas leave with his family in Germany, but came to Port of Spain to stand by my side, as I gave meaning to it somewhat in lieu of my son (who had died at age 20 three years earlier) as I went through the motions of burying my mother and cremating my husband and sister—he was there in my time of need. The least I could do to reciprocate that gesture was to come to UNEP to help him in his vision here when he indicated he had a need for my services and support. Very personal motivation. I was already retired from the UN System for 10 years. But trying to do the same kind of work on the ground via The Cropper Foundation. Interesting idea that you think of transcending the limits of a single disciplinary mode. Would you say that you are a strand seeker? Would you say that you consciously try to find the strands that connect things, and your objective is to weave them together? No. I do not think I am a strand seeker. I think I search for the Whole. It does require connecting the strands and weaving them together. Do you feel that your current position enables or empowers you to fulfill yourpersonal mission? I do not have a personal mission. But among all the purposes for which one might work, I feel that sustaining our planetary home and in ways that contribute to human dignity and equity among groups and peoples transcend everything else. It is for me a most noble mission. I do like to leave a place somewhat better off by virtue of my having been there. Finally, what does the honorary doctorate from The UWI mean to you? I am deeply honoured by this. Even though I think I am undeserving of it, in terms of academic accomplishments. I made the decision early that I did not want to pursue a career in Academia (even though Lloyd Best sought to persuade me to that), because I wanted to change the world. Every employment option I have chosen over my life since university has been seen as an opportunity to continue to change the world. In that work I do draw heavily on the work of academics, but I try to put it to use for the larger public interest. The Marks of ChildhoodThe practice of my mother to put aside something for those who were absent ...later on in my life and professional work I came to associate that with the concept of “intergenerational equity” i.e. taking care of the needs of those who were not present
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Angela Sarojini Cropper, is United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and has worked with various organisations promoting sustainable development. A graduate of The UWI, she holds a BSc in Economics and an LLB. She is founder of the Cropper Foundation. She is one of five persons receiving honorary degrees at the St Augustine campus next month. She was in Nairobi, and about to travel again when UWI Today contacted her, but managed to answer our questions.