Dr. Elsa Nickel is a biologist by profession. Almost all her career she was working in the area of nature conservation. She started working for the Nature Conservation Authorities of the State of Baden-Württenberg, Germany, including the Environment Ministry. In 2005 she became Deputy Director-General of the “Nature Conservation” Directorate at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). Since 2014 she is the Director General of the Directorate „Nature Conservation and Sustainable Use” of the BMUB. All the Biodiversity related UN conventions and Agreements are part of its portfolio.