Meena Raman

Meena Raman is the Head of Programmes of Third World Network (TWN) and is based in Malaysia. She is also the President of Friends of the Earth, Malaysia (Sahabat Alam), which is a member of Friends of the Earth International. As Legal adviser to the Consumers’ Association of Penang in Malaysia, she currently heads its Community Mobilization Section, which works with farmers and fisherfolk. She has served as chair of Friends of the Earth International (2004-2008), an international organization with 77 member groups. At Third World Network, Meena currently coordinates the climate change program and has been actively involved in the intergovernmental climate negotiations, from Bali to Cancún. She has been monitoring and reporting on the negotiations and providing analysis and support both to developing country governments as well as to civil society participants. Upon graduation in 1982, Meena and a colleague set up the first public interest law firm in Malaysia, which launched her legal practice assisting consumers. In the past 25 years, she has represented the organizations she works with at numerous conferences and presented papers on issues ranging from environmental and consumer protection to climate change, agriculture and fisheries, and globalization and trade.