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Overview:

 

OES is the Department of State bureau responsible for the integration of matters relating to the environment, science, and technology into United States foreign policy. It works closely with the White House, Congress, U.S. government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and private citizens, as well as other Department of State bureaus. Among the specific areas OES addresses when representing the U.S. in making agreements with other nations: Bio-terrorism, climate change, conservation, fisheries, forests, international health issues, oceans, the use of outer space, and wildlife. 
more
History:

 

In October 1973 Congress passed the Department of State Appropriations Authorization Act that mandated the creation of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), and it was established a year later, on October 8, 1974. OES assumed the duties of several State Department offices and positions that were then abolished, including the Office of International Scientific and Technological Affairs; Office of Special Assistant to the Secretary of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Coordinator of Ocean Affairs; Office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary for Population Matters; and Special Assistant to the Secretary for Environmental Affairs. In addition, the Act gave OES responsibility for promoting U.S. interests in various matters relating to conservation, environmental issues, fisheries, health arenas, oceans, scientific topics, and wildlife, designating it as the primary office for negotiation of international environmental and natural resource agreements and treaties with other nations.
more
What it Does:

 

OES is the U.S. State Department Bureau responsible for the coordination, integration, and implementation of U.S. foreign policy in the areas of International Science and Technology; Environmental, Health, Natural Resource Protection, and Global Climate Change; and Oceans and Fisheries. It represents the Department of State at meetings with commissions and various other groups from nations across the globe, working toward the creation of partnerships, initiatives, agreements, and treaties that will enable sustainable development and economic growth, while also aiming to ensure as little harm as possible to the environment occurs in the process. Among the wide range of specific global issues it addresses are bio-terrorism; climate change; conservation of natural resources, including forests, fisheries, oceans, and wildlife; health issues, particularly avian influenza; science; technology; and the use of outer space.
 
The work of OES is accomplished through various directorates and offices:
-      The Environment Directorate deals with a broad range of global topics related to environmental protection and natural resources conservation, many of which are addressed by the Office of Environmental Policy, which coordinates U.S. approaches to air quality and environmental issues that cross national boundaries; environmental aspects of free trade agreements; and environmental issues in international financial institutions. The Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation also covers areas relevant to the Environment Directorate, coordinating U.S. approaches to international wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and issues related to the conservation of coral reefs, wetlands and drylands, and control of invasive species.
-      The Health, Space, and Science Directorate acts in conjunction with several U.S. Government agencies, including the Office of International Health Affairs, which facilitates policy-making regarding international bio-terrorism, infectious disease, surveillance, environmental health, and health in post-conflict situations. The Office of Space and Advanced Technology works to see that U.S. space exploration policies are science-based, protect national security, advance economic interests, foster environmental protection, and enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry, and is also coordinating a broad diplomatic effort to encourage acceptance of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) as a worldwide standard for satellite-based navigation. The Office of Science & Technology Cooperation promotes the interests of the U.S. science and technology communities in the international policy arena, negotiating agreements, taking a leading role in representing U.S. science and technology in organizations such as UNESCO, and managing the State Department's Embassy Science Fellows Program.
-      The Oceans and Fisheries Directorate has two offices addressing its issues, the Office of Marine Conservation, which concentrates on international fishing matters, and the Office of Ocean Affairs, which is primarily responsible for international ocean law and policy, marine pollution, marine mammals, polar affairs, maritime boundaries, and marine science.
-      The Office of Global Change functions in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to develop a post-2012 climate strategy that is environmentally effective and economically sustainable, and aims to create, as part of a global agreement, binding international commitments for all major economies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but flexible, depending on each country’s circumstances and capabilities.
-      The Office of Policy Coordination and Initiatives works closely with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to help build and promote public-private partnerships, and manages ongoing initiatives on water, and dialogues on OES issues with partners such as Brazil, India and China, and other countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq. It also coordinates the operation of twelve Regional Environmental Hubs that deal with health, science, the environment, and other areas of concern, and which operate out of U.S. Embassies strategically positioned throughout the world, Their locations are: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Gaborone, Botswana; Accra, Ghana; Copenhagen, Denmark; Budapest, Hungary; Amman, Jordan; Suva, Fiji; Bangkok, Thailand; Kathmandu, Nepal; Astana, Kazakhstan; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Brasilia, Brazil.
 
Among specific OES activities:

The Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking aims to focus political and public attention on the threat to global wildlife from poaching and illegal trade. The coalition members, in addition to the U.S., include: India, the United Kingdom, the American Forest and Paper Association, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Conservation International, the Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Save the Tiger Fund, the Smithsonian Institution, Traffic International, WildAid, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund.
 
Actress Bo Derek is currently Special Envoy of the Secretary of State for Wildlife Trafficking issues, and recently spoke out on the topic along with OES Current Assistant Secretary Claudia A. McMurray.
 
In addition, actor Harrison Ford can presently be seen in Public Service Announcements also addressing the issue.
 
Launched by President Bush in 2005, the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, supports international efforts to combat avian flu and the potential for a human flu pandemic. The U.S. has pledged $629 million to this initiative since 2005, about half of its budget.
 
The Methane to Markets Partnership was launched in November 2004 by the United States and 13 other national governments to promote the use of methane as an energy source. The chair is the deputy assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Methane emissions come from animal waste, coal mines, landfills and oil and gas systems.
 
The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 was passed to improve access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries. OES works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the policy in 35 countries worldwide.
more
Former Directors:

 

The position of Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs can be an unexpected springboard to greater things. The first person to hold the office, Dixy Lee Ray, was later elected governor of the state of Washington. Patsy Mink went on become the first Asian American woman to be elected to Congress. Thomas Pickering was later U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and John Negroponte went on to serve as Ambassador to Iraq and Director of National Intelligence.
more

Comments

Thomas C. Malone 10 years ago
TO: Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones It is my understanding that Secretary Kerry has launced an initiative on the challenges for sustainable oceans. "A Global Ocean Observing Framework for Sustainable Development" will soon be published in the journal Marine Policy. This is quite relevant to Secretary Kerry's initiative, we would gladly send you a preprint if think it might be useful. Regards, Thomas C. Malone, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Herb Koudelka 13 years ago
What is the hold up on permits on shallow water drilling, or is this just a political ploy to bankrupt the U.S. oil industry and cause layoffs of more workers this country so desperately needs. I think if this is political the Democrats will pay even more dearly in November, this is not a secret and many people I know are talking about this. Sincerely, Herb

Leave a comment

Founded: 1974
Annual Budget: $33.9 million
Employees: 168
Official Website: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Garber, Judith
Acting Assistant Secretary of State

The State Department’s top diplomat for international scientific affairs—including global warming, which the Trump administration denies—is Judith Garber, who in April 2014 was promoted from principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), a job she had held since 2012. 

 

The daughter of Evelyn Garber and Texaco accountant Seymour Garber, Judith (Judy) G. Garber was born circa 1961, and grew up in and around the New York City metropolitan area. She earned her B.S. in International Economics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1983. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1984, Garber worked at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury.

 

Garber’s early State Department assignments included overseas postings as economic counselor in Madrid, Spain; deputy economic counselor in Tel Aviv, Israel; economic officer in Prague, Czech Republic; economic officer in Mexico City, Mexico; and vice consul in Seville, Spain. Garber’s Washington assignments have included director for overseas development finance in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, working with the multilateral development banks on Haiti reconstruction, tsunami relief, and Pakistan earthquake reconstruction.

 

Garber then moved laterally to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she served as director of North Central European affairs, overseeing bilateral relations with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia.

 

Garber was promoted to deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in October 2007, where she oversaw bilateral relations with Nordic, Baltic, and Central European countries.

 

Garber served as ambassador to Latvia from August 2009 to July 2012, the first career diplomat to the small Baltic nation since Brian E. Carlson served in Riga from 2001 to 2004. Garber’s two immediate predecessors, Catherine Todd Bailey and Chuck. Larson, Jr., were non-career appointees who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the 2004 presidential campaign of George W. Bush.  

 

Garber’s husband, Paul Wisgerhof, also served in the Foreign Service and was deputy director of the Office of Foreign Policy Trade Controls. She has a stepson, Douglas, a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Elizabeth. 

-Matt Bewig

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

State Department Cables 2004-2011 (WikiLeaks)

Ambassador to Latvia: Who Is Judith Garber? (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Officially In: Judith G. Garber to Riga (Diplopundit) 

more
Haverkamp, Jennifer
Previous Assistant Secretary

 

On August 28, 2014, the White House announced that President Barack Obama had nominated Jennifer Haverkamp, who has worked for environmental causes throughout her professional career, to head the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

 

Haverkamp is from Indiana and went to The College of Wooster in Ohio, graduating with a B.A. in biology in 1979. She was then selected as a Rhodes Scholar and studied politics and philosophy at Somerville College at Britain’s Oxford University, earning an M.A. in 1981.

 

She returned to the United States and worked first as an associate for the Conservation Foundation, which is now part of the World Wildlife Fund. She remained there until 1984 when she began law school at Yale. She earned a J.D. in 1987 and then clerked for a year for federal Judge Betty Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

 

Haverkamp returned to the cause of conservation as an attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, where she worked on revisions to the Clean Air Act. She moved over to the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a special assistant to the assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance. The following year, Haverkamp was named deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources and a director in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office of North American Affairs and Office of Intellectual Property and Environment. She was responsible for the environmental parts of trade agreements, including one between the United States and Chile, another with Singapore and the environmental negotiations leading up to the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 1995, Haverkamp was named assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources.

 

She left federal service in 2003 to become a consultant for International Trade and Sustainability Services. She did some work for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and later came on board as a full-time employee of the organization as managing director for international policy. In 2011, Haverkamp was made director of EDF’s International Climate Program, remaining in that role until 2014, when she left to do consulting work and lecture in the law at George Washington University. She was also a visiting senior fellow at the Institute for Government and Sustainable Development.

 

Haverkamp has served on the board of trustees of The College of Wooster since 1988, on the board of directors of the American Bird Conservancy since 2006 and on the board of directors of the Verified Carbon Standard Association since 2012.

 

Haverkamp and her husband, attorney Jeffrey Kehne, have two children, Greg and Adrianne.

-Steve Straehley

 

To Learn More:

Nomination Announcement

The College of Wooster Profile

more
Bookmark and Share
Overview:

 

OES is the Department of State bureau responsible for the integration of matters relating to the environment, science, and technology into United States foreign policy. It works closely with the White House, Congress, U.S. government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and private citizens, as well as other Department of State bureaus. Among the specific areas OES addresses when representing the U.S. in making agreements with other nations: Bio-terrorism, climate change, conservation, fisheries, forests, international health issues, oceans, the use of outer space, and wildlife. 
more
History:

 

In October 1973 Congress passed the Department of State Appropriations Authorization Act that mandated the creation of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), and it was established a year later, on October 8, 1974. OES assumed the duties of several State Department offices and positions that were then abolished, including the Office of International Scientific and Technological Affairs; Office of Special Assistant to the Secretary of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Coordinator of Ocean Affairs; Office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary for Population Matters; and Special Assistant to the Secretary for Environmental Affairs. In addition, the Act gave OES responsibility for promoting U.S. interests in various matters relating to conservation, environmental issues, fisheries, health arenas, oceans, scientific topics, and wildlife, designating it as the primary office for negotiation of international environmental and natural resource agreements and treaties with other nations.
more
What it Does:

 

OES is the U.S. State Department Bureau responsible for the coordination, integration, and implementation of U.S. foreign policy in the areas of International Science and Technology; Environmental, Health, Natural Resource Protection, and Global Climate Change; and Oceans and Fisheries. It represents the Department of State at meetings with commissions and various other groups from nations across the globe, working toward the creation of partnerships, initiatives, agreements, and treaties that will enable sustainable development and economic growth, while also aiming to ensure as little harm as possible to the environment occurs in the process. Among the wide range of specific global issues it addresses are bio-terrorism; climate change; conservation of natural resources, including forests, fisheries, oceans, and wildlife; health issues, particularly avian influenza; science; technology; and the use of outer space.
 
The work of OES is accomplished through various directorates and offices:
-      The Environment Directorate deals with a broad range of global topics related to environmental protection and natural resources conservation, many of which are addressed by the Office of Environmental Policy, which coordinates U.S. approaches to air quality and environmental issues that cross national boundaries; environmental aspects of free trade agreements; and environmental issues in international financial institutions. The Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation also covers areas relevant to the Environment Directorate, coordinating U.S. approaches to international wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and issues related to the conservation of coral reefs, wetlands and drylands, and control of invasive species.
-      The Health, Space, and Science Directorate acts in conjunction with several U.S. Government agencies, including the Office of International Health Affairs, which facilitates policy-making regarding international bio-terrorism, infectious disease, surveillance, environmental health, and health in post-conflict situations. The Office of Space and Advanced Technology works to see that U.S. space exploration policies are science-based, protect national security, advance economic interests, foster environmental protection, and enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry, and is also coordinating a broad diplomatic effort to encourage acceptance of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) as a worldwide standard for satellite-based navigation. The Office of Science & Technology Cooperation promotes the interests of the U.S. science and technology communities in the international policy arena, negotiating agreements, taking a leading role in representing U.S. science and technology in organizations such as UNESCO, and managing the State Department's Embassy Science Fellows Program.
-      The Oceans and Fisheries Directorate has two offices addressing its issues, the Office of Marine Conservation, which concentrates on international fishing matters, and the Office of Ocean Affairs, which is primarily responsible for international ocean law and policy, marine pollution, marine mammals, polar affairs, maritime boundaries, and marine science.
-      The Office of Global Change functions in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to develop a post-2012 climate strategy that is environmentally effective and economically sustainable, and aims to create, as part of a global agreement, binding international commitments for all major economies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but flexible, depending on each country’s circumstances and capabilities.
-      The Office of Policy Coordination and Initiatives works closely with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to help build and promote public-private partnerships, and manages ongoing initiatives on water, and dialogues on OES issues with partners such as Brazil, India and China, and other countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq. It also coordinates the operation of twelve Regional Environmental Hubs that deal with health, science, the environment, and other areas of concern, and which operate out of U.S. Embassies strategically positioned throughout the world, Their locations are: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Gaborone, Botswana; Accra, Ghana; Copenhagen, Denmark; Budapest, Hungary; Amman, Jordan; Suva, Fiji; Bangkok, Thailand; Kathmandu, Nepal; Astana, Kazakhstan; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Brasilia, Brazil.
 
Among specific OES activities:

The Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking aims to focus political and public attention on the threat to global wildlife from poaching and illegal trade. The coalition members, in addition to the U.S., include: India, the United Kingdom, the American Forest and Paper Association, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Conservation International, the Humane Society International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Save the Tiger Fund, the Smithsonian Institution, Traffic International, WildAid, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund.
 
Actress Bo Derek is currently Special Envoy of the Secretary of State for Wildlife Trafficking issues, and recently spoke out on the topic along with OES Current Assistant Secretary Claudia A. McMurray.
 
In addition, actor Harrison Ford can presently be seen in Public Service Announcements also addressing the issue.
 
Launched by President Bush in 2005, the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, supports international efforts to combat avian flu and the potential for a human flu pandemic. The U.S. has pledged $629 million to this initiative since 2005, about half of its budget.
 
The Methane to Markets Partnership was launched in November 2004 by the United States and 13 other national governments to promote the use of methane as an energy source. The chair is the deputy assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Methane emissions come from animal waste, coal mines, landfills and oil and gas systems.
 
The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 was passed to improve access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries. OES works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the policy in 35 countries worldwide.
more
Former Directors:

 

The position of Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs can be an unexpected springboard to greater things. The first person to hold the office, Dixy Lee Ray, was later elected governor of the state of Washington. Patsy Mink went on become the first Asian American woman to be elected to Congress. Thomas Pickering was later U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and John Negroponte went on to serve as Ambassador to Iraq and Director of National Intelligence.
more

Comments

Thomas C. Malone 10 years ago
TO: Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones It is my understanding that Secretary Kerry has launced an initiative on the challenges for sustainable oceans. "A Global Ocean Observing Framework for Sustainable Development" will soon be published in the journal Marine Policy. This is quite relevant to Secretary Kerry's initiative, we would gladly send you a preprint if think it might be useful. Regards, Thomas C. Malone, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Herb Koudelka 13 years ago
What is the hold up on permits on shallow water drilling, or is this just a political ploy to bankrupt the U.S. oil industry and cause layoffs of more workers this country so desperately needs. I think if this is political the Democrats will pay even more dearly in November, this is not a secret and many people I know are talking about this. Sincerely, Herb

Leave a comment

Founded: 1974
Annual Budget: $33.9 million
Employees: 168
Official Website: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Garber, Judith
Acting Assistant Secretary of State

The State Department’s top diplomat for international scientific affairs—including global warming, which the Trump administration denies—is Judith Garber, who in April 2014 was promoted from principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), a job she had held since 2012. 

 

The daughter of Evelyn Garber and Texaco accountant Seymour Garber, Judith (Judy) G. Garber was born circa 1961, and grew up in and around the New York City metropolitan area. She earned her B.S. in International Economics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1983. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1984, Garber worked at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury.

 

Garber’s early State Department assignments included overseas postings as economic counselor in Madrid, Spain; deputy economic counselor in Tel Aviv, Israel; economic officer in Prague, Czech Republic; economic officer in Mexico City, Mexico; and vice consul in Seville, Spain. Garber’s Washington assignments have included director for overseas development finance in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, working with the multilateral development banks on Haiti reconstruction, tsunami relief, and Pakistan earthquake reconstruction.

 

Garber then moved laterally to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she served as director of North Central European affairs, overseeing bilateral relations with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia.

 

Garber was promoted to deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in October 2007, where she oversaw bilateral relations with Nordic, Baltic, and Central European countries.

 

Garber served as ambassador to Latvia from August 2009 to July 2012, the first career diplomat to the small Baltic nation since Brian E. Carlson served in Riga from 2001 to 2004. Garber’s two immediate predecessors, Catherine Todd Bailey and Chuck. Larson, Jr., were non-career appointees who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the 2004 presidential campaign of George W. Bush.  

 

Garber’s husband, Paul Wisgerhof, also served in the Foreign Service and was deputy director of the Office of Foreign Policy Trade Controls. She has a stepson, Douglas, a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Elizabeth. 

-Matt Bewig

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

State Department Cables 2004-2011 (WikiLeaks)

Ambassador to Latvia: Who Is Judith Garber? (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Officially In: Judith G. Garber to Riga (Diplopundit) 

more
Haverkamp, Jennifer
Previous Assistant Secretary

 

On August 28, 2014, the White House announced that President Barack Obama had nominated Jennifer Haverkamp, who has worked for environmental causes throughout her professional career, to head the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

 

Haverkamp is from Indiana and went to The College of Wooster in Ohio, graduating with a B.A. in biology in 1979. She was then selected as a Rhodes Scholar and studied politics and philosophy at Somerville College at Britain’s Oxford University, earning an M.A. in 1981.

 

She returned to the United States and worked first as an associate for the Conservation Foundation, which is now part of the World Wildlife Fund. She remained there until 1984 when she began law school at Yale. She earned a J.D. in 1987 and then clerked for a year for federal Judge Betty Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

 

Haverkamp returned to the cause of conservation as an attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, where she worked on revisions to the Clean Air Act. She moved over to the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a special assistant to the assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance. The following year, Haverkamp was named deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources and a director in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office of North American Affairs and Office of Intellectual Property and Environment. She was responsible for the environmental parts of trade agreements, including one between the United States and Chile, another with Singapore and the environmental negotiations leading up to the North American Free Trade Agreement. In 1995, Haverkamp was named assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources.

 

She left federal service in 2003 to become a consultant for International Trade and Sustainability Services. She did some work for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and later came on board as a full-time employee of the organization as managing director for international policy. In 2011, Haverkamp was made director of EDF’s International Climate Program, remaining in that role until 2014, when she left to do consulting work and lecture in the law at George Washington University. She was also a visiting senior fellow at the Institute for Government and Sustainable Development.

 

Haverkamp has served on the board of trustees of The College of Wooster since 1988, on the board of directors of the American Bird Conservancy since 2006 and on the board of directors of the Verified Carbon Standard Association since 2012.

 

Haverkamp and her husband, attorney Jeffrey Kehne, have two children, Greg and Adrianne.

-Steve Straehley

 

To Learn More:

Nomination Announcement

The College of Wooster Profile

more