Lidia Arthur Brito was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences on 2 November 2023. She had been Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences ad interim since June 2023, helping to formulate innovative responses to contemporary environmental challenges.

A forest engineer with a Master’s and Doctorate in Forest and Wood Science from Colorado State University (USA), she was born in Mozambique and has been part of Eduardo Mondlane University’s staff since her graduation in Forest Engineering in 1981. She has held senior positions in Mozambique such as Head of the Forestry Department in the Faculty of Agronomy (1997–1998), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at Eduardo Mondlane University (1998–2000), Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology (2000–2005), and Advisor for Strategic Planning and External Relations to the Mayor of Maputo City (2005–2008).

She joined UNESCO in November 2009 as Director for Science Policy and Sustainable Development in the Natural Sciences Sector in Paris, and in 2014 she was appointed UNESCO Regional Director for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO Montevideo Office). In 2022, she became Director of the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare (Zimbabwe) and UNESCO Representative for Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Her areas of expertise range from forestry and the sustainable management of natural resources to higher education, science, and technology policies and programmes as part of public policies for sustainable development. She has chaired several commissions and task teams in higher education and STI for sustainable development. She co-chaired the Scientific Organizing Committee for the Planet Under Pressure Conference in London, a major event in preparation for Rio+20, and has served on several international boards such as the African Forestry Forum Governing Board, the Centre for Higher Education Trust (CHET) Board, the Stockholm Environment Institute Governing Board, and the Bioversity Governing Board, among others. From 2018 to 2021, she chaired the regional organizing committee of the Open Science Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean (CILAC), a key regional space for debate and exchange to promote sustainable policies across science, technology, and innovation.