Antonio M.A. Pedro is a mineral exploration geologist with over 30 years of broad experience of and exposure to development issues and management at national, sub-regional, and continental levels. He joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 2001, where he is currently the UNECA’s Deputy Executive Secretary based in Addis Ababa.
He has been at the forefront of mineral policy analysis and strategy setting and has published or led the publication of major studies and/or policy papers and think pieces on the nexus between the extractive sector and sustainable development. He led the work of the International Study Group on Africa’s Mineral Regimes (ISG), a major ECA initiative to ensure that Africa’s mineral resources fully contribute to the socio-economic development of the continent in a sustainable manner. The ISG work culminated in the publication of the “Minerals and Africa’s Development” report. He also spearheaded the formulation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) which was adopted by the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in February 2009.
He is member of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Co-Chair of its thematic group on the Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources. He is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on "Mining and Metals in a Sustainable World", Honorary Fellow in the Graduate School of Natural Resources Law, Policy and Management (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee, and faculty member of the Executive Training on Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development, a joint programme of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) and of the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development (CGSD) at Columbia University. He serves in the Board of Directors and Advisory Groups of several institutions and global initiatives including the CCSI.
He holds an MSc in Mineral Exploration from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London.