Eugene Lapointe

- President of IWMC World Conservation Trust
- President of World Conservation Trust Foundation
- Former Secretary-General of CITES (1982-1990)

Learning from and living with nature in the vast wilderness of Canada was very much a part of Eugène Lapointe's young life. At the age of seven, he was catching partridges and rabbits to help feed his family who lived 50 miles (80 km.) from civilization. In this rustic setting, he learned that to survive, one must use sparingly what nature has to offer.

Many years later, as Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Mr. Lapointe was implementing on an international level lessons learned from nature in the Canadian wilds.

Mr. Lapointe's dedication to practical and realistic global natural resource conservation while Secretary-General of CITES defined his service. But certain political factions did not welcome his commitment to these principles.

In an unprecedented move, Mr. Lapointe was dismissed from CITES on 2 November 1990 by the then Executive Director of UNEP, Mostapha Tolba, under pressure from certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United States State Department. A United Nations judicial board later said the move was "arbitrary and capricious", and issued a unanimous order for his reinstatement. As a result, the United Nations Secretary- General later on confirmed that Mr. Lapointe "...fulfilled his duties and responsibilities as Secretary-General of CITES in every way and in a highly satisfactory manner."

Mr. Lapointe sought to continue his work in global conservation and founded the IWMC World Conservation Trust (IWMC) in 1994. IWMC is a worldwide coalition of wildlife managers who believe the most powerful conservation tool is sustainable utilization of terrestrial and marine wildlife resources.

Before joining CITES, Eugène Lapointe worked with the Canadian Government in Ottawa for 14 years. During eight of these years, he directed a legislative unit dealing with international agreements such as the International Coffee Agreement, the International Sugar Agreement, the International Cocoa Agreement and the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. He holds a law degree from the Laval University in Quebec.

A conservationist, lecturer, jurist, diplomat and ice hockey coach in the Swiss National League, Eugène Lapointe can be described as an optimistic humanist who truly believes in the merits of human nature.