OES Overseas

Around the world, countries are facing new and growing environmental challenges, many of which require regional cooperation to solve. Bringing nations together in a region to work on a common environmental problem -- a common threat -- can advance U.S. interests in ways that go far beyond the scope of the environmental issue itself. The Department's commitment to a regional strategy complements our bilateral and multilateral diplomatic environmental efforts.

To address transboundary environmental issues, and to support officers working on OES issues, the Department established 12 regional environmental Hubs, located in embassies around the world. The Hub concept is based on the idea that transboundary environmental problems can best be addressed through regional cooperation. The regional environmental officer's role complements the traditional bilateral Environment, Science, Technology and Health officers stationed in U.S. embassies in many countries of the world. Rather than dealing with a single country, Hub officers engage with several countries of a region on a particular issue, with the aim of promoting regional environmental cooperation, sharing of environmental data, and adoption of environmentally sound policies that will benefit all countries in that area.

The Hubs work closely with other USG agencies and support their efforts by raising key issues at the diplomatic level. They also cooperate with non-governmental organizations on environmental activities within their region. In addition, there are ESTH officers working with the US Mission to the UN and the US Mission to the EU.

U.S. Mission to the UN, New York City

-- Environment
-- Sustainable Development

U.S. Mission to the EU, Brussels, Belgium

See Energy, Environment, Galileo and GPS, Public Health, and Science and Technology, as well as Sustainable Development issues on the left side listing

Hubs

Revised September 2007

AFRICA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (East African Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Ms. Kirsten Bauman
Entoto Street
P.O. Box 1014
Phone: 251-11-517-4385
Mobile: 251-911-50-1193
Fax: 251-11-124-2432
Email:BaumanKS@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Mr. Moges Worku
Phone: 251-11-517-4283
Email: WorkuM@state.gov

Hub Associate: Shawna Hirsch
Phone: 251-11-517-4100
Email: HirschSG@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of African Affairs.
• Countries Served: Burundi, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
• Key Issues: Renewable energy, integrated water resource management, the Nile Basin Initiative, waste management, and fisheries.

Gaborone, Botswana (Southern Africa)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Anthony Woods
P.O. Box 90
Gaborone, Botswana
Phone: 267-395-3982, Extension 5257
Fax: 267-395-6504
E-mail: WoodsAC@state.gov

Hub HIV/AIDS & Health Assistant: Ms. Dorothy Tlagae
Phone: 267-395-3982
Fax: 267-395-6947
E-mail: TlagaeDK@state.gov

Hub Assistant: Ms. Bigani Setume
Phone: 267-395-3982
Fax: 267-395-6947
E-mail: SetumeB@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of African Affairs.
• Countries Served: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• Key Issues: Sustainable development and trans-boundary collaboration on shared natural resource management, with a focus on water and wildlife to include trans-frontier conservation areas; promoting collaboration within the SADC region on disaster management, including drought mitigation and avian influenza pandemic preparedness.

Accra, Ghana (West and Central African Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Geoffrey Hunt
24 Fourth Circular Road
Cantonments, Accra
Ghana
Phone: 233-21-741-417
Fax: 233-0-244-333-709
Email: HuntGA@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of African Affairs Bureau.
• Countries Served: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
• Key Issues: Sustainable management of tropical forests and wildlife, desertification, fisheries and pollution issues.

EUROPE

Copenhagen, Denmark (Baltic and Nordic States Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Erik Hall
Dag Hammarskjold Alle 24
2100 Copenhagen
PSC 73, APO AE 09716
Phone: 45-33-41-73-83
Fax: 45-35-42-70-94
Email: HallE@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Nanna Nyholm
Phone: 45-33-41-7294
Fax: 45-35-42-70-94
Email: NyholmNA@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
• Countries Served: Denmark (including Greenland), Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.
• Works with St. Petersburg and Poland on Baltic Sea watershed issues only.
  Key Issues: Cooperation on sustainable development, environment, science and technology issues and the Department's Northeastern Europe initiative.

Budapest, Hungary (Central and Eastern European Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Ms. CAmille Hill
Szabadság Tér 12
H-1054 Budapest, Hungary
Phone: 36-1-475-4956
Fax: 36-1-475-4027
Email:  HillCD2@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Anett Zellei
Phone: 36-1-475-4456
Email: ZelleiA@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Mr. Tibor Kovacs
Phone: 36-1-475-4439
Email: KovacST@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
• Countries Served: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland (excluding Baltic Sea issues, handled by REO Copenhagen), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
• Key Issues: Sustainable development, Black Sea environmental issues, trans-boundary water management, health, domestic good governance, science cooperation, and environmental components of Balkan reconstruction.

MIDDLE EAST

Amman, Jordan (Middle Eastern Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Manu Bhalla
Office: 962-6-590-6621
Cell: 962-79-559-3873
Email: BhallaM@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Rana Safadi
Phone: 962-6-590-6356
Email: SafadiRA@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Near Eastern Affairs.
• Countries Served: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza (Palestinian Authority), and Yemen.
• Key Issues: Regional cooperation on a range of environmental issues, protection of the Gulf of Aqaba, environmental activities in support of the Middle East Peace Process, particularly with regard to water, pandemic influenza mitigation (Egypt), and progressing S&T collaboration across the region.

ASIA

Suva, Fiji (Pacific Hub)

Hub Officer: Mr. Joseph Murphy
31 Loftus Street, P.O. Box 218
Suva, Fiji
Phone: 679-331-4466, Extension 8166
Fax: 679-330-0081
Email: MurphyJP@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Sandeep K. Singh
Phone: 679-331-4466, Extension 8210
Email: SinghSK1@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
• Countries Served: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand (including the Cook Islands and Niue), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
• Key Issues: Sustainable management of fisheries, protection of biodiversity, and climate change.

Bangkok, Thailand (East Asia Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Howell "Hal" Howard
120-122 Wireless Road
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
OR APO AP 96946, USA
Phone: 66-2-205-4995
Fax: 66-2-254-2839
Email: HowardHH@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Kanchana Aksorn-Aree
Phone: 66-2-205-4609
Email: KanchanA@state.gov

Hub Assistant: Joy Asato
Phone: 66-2-205-4708
Fax number: 66-2-254-2839
Email: AsatoJN@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
• Countries Served: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Key Issues: Sustainable management, including law enforcement of forests, water, and biodiversity resources; infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, avian influenza, dengue and others; hydropower and dam construction; air and water pollution.

Kathmandu, Nepal (South Asian Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. John Q. Adams
PO Box 295
Maraharajgunj 
Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: 977-1-400-7200, Extension 4088
Fax: 977-1-400-7272
Email: AdamsJQ@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Mr. Jay Pal Shrestha
Phone: 977-1-400-7200, Extension 4205
Email: ShresthaJP@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau.
• Constituent Posts: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• Key Issues: Regional cooperation on environmental compliance, water, biodiversity, and climate change.

Astana, Kazakhstan (Central Asian Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Bruce Hudspeth
Ak Bulak 4
Street 23-22
Building 3
010010
Astana, Kazakhstan
Phone: 7-3172-70-21-00
Fax: 7-3172-34-08-90
Email: HudspethBK@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Mr. Bakhtiyor R. Mukhamadiev
Phone: 998-71-120-5450, Extension 2290
Email: MukhamadievBR@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
• Countries Served: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
• Key Issues: Regional management of sustainable development issues and shared water resources.

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

San Jose, Costa Rica (Central American and Caribbean Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Mr. Timothy P. Lattimer
Pavas, San Jose
APO AA 35020 
Phone: 506-220-3939, Extension 2390
Direct: 506-290-8408
Fax: 506-290-8409 and 506-220-3128
Email: LattimerTP@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Ms. Andrea Borel
Phone: 506-220-3939, Extension 2315
Email: BorelAC@state.gov

Hub Secretary: Ms. Marcia Miller
Phone: 506-220-3939, Extension 2392
Email: MillerML@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau.
• Countries Served: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
• Key Issues: Loss of forests and coastal zone management.

Brasilia, Brazil (South American Hub)

Website

Hub Officer: Anne Braghetta
Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3 Brasilia, DF 70403-900
Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
Phone: 55-61-3312-7000, Extension 7417
Fax: 55-61-3312-7668
Email: BraghettaA@state.gov

Regional Environmental Specialist: Larissa Stoner 
Phone: 55-61-321-7000, Extension 7245
Email: StonerLA@state.gov 

Regional Environmental Specialist: Gislaine Disconzi 
Phone: 55-61-321-7000, Extension 7447
Email: DisconziGM@state.gov

• Regional Bureau: Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
• Countries Served: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
• Key Issues: Deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon basin, parks management, capacity building in environmental law enforcement, environmental cooperation agreement work plan development as part of bilateral free trade agreements, and urban pollution problems.