Rita Maria el Zaghloul, is the Director, High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P) Secretariat. The HAC for N&P is a coalition of 120 countries championing the protection of 30% of our planet’s land and ocean by 2030. The HAC for N&P have been awarded with the Earthshot Prize, Revive Our Oceans Category 2024. Rita served for 4 years as Minister Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations, acting as lead diplomat and negotiator for Peace and Security, sustainable development, climate change and nutrition.
At the United Nations, Rita co-led the process of the proclamation of the Decade of Family Farming, co-chaired the Special Committee of Peacekeeping Operations for 2 consecutive years and chaired the Committee on Information amongst others. Rita also served for 3 years with the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica as Coordinator and Costa Rica’s focal point for the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People during which she oversaw the coalition growth from 5 to 118 members in 3 years with the support of the HAC co-chairs. The coalition was crucial to adopt the Global Biodiversity Framework and in particular led on the 30by30 Target. Rita holds a degree in International Relations from the National University of Costa Rica and a master’s degree in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London. A dual citizen from Costa Rica and Lebanon, she is fluent in Arabic, Spanish, French and English.