Since February 2008. Mr. Springer has been leading the execution of the OAS’s Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development, which provides an integrated framework for the provision of capacity building and technical cooperation to OAS Member States in thematic areas such as: Circular Economy/Closed Looped Cycling (CE/CLCP); Ecosystems Management; Integrated Water Resources Management; Sustainable Energy; Disaster Risk Management; and Environmental Law, Policy and Governance.
Before joining the OAS, Mr. Springer served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Tourism, Public Utilities and Civil Aviation (1992-1994), and Planning, Development, Environment and Housing (1994-1997) in his native Saint Lucia. In these roles, he successfully championed for the establishment of a National Economic Social and Consultative Council as a participatory decision-making mechanism to infuse sustainability principles in economic, social and environmental policy. As Adviser, Policy and Strategy Development with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, (1998-2001) he supervised the preparation of an OECS Development Charter and Strategy, which were later approved by OECS Heads of Government.
Mr. Springer currently serves as: a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Expert Group on Vulnerability and Resilience of Small States; and as Program Adviser on the Green Economy with the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute.
Cletus Springer is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (Public Administration and Mass Communication respectively); Oxford Brookes University (Urban Planning); and Aberdeen University (Environmental Impact Assessment). A recipient of multiple awards for Creative Journalism, Mr. Springer has written scores of technical papers and has contributed to several books on sustainable development.