Digital Transformation Conference for Environmental Sustainability - Perspective from West Asia

Digital Transformation Conference for Environmental Sustainability

Perspective from West Asia

The scale of challenge against the backdrop of planetary crises is insurmountable. Its impact on people and the planet is happening faster than the speed of interventions on the ground. Post 2015, Data Revolution for the SDGs called for data literacy. It paved way for an increased capacity in harnessing information, as well as technical and statistical data that allowed for more data-driven and science-based decision-making. This new access to data, however, presents both challenges and opportunities on how we make use and process this available resource in real time to ultimately deliver a net-positive impact on the environment and on our society.

The year 2020 is a pivotal year for the planet - it has been saddled by the pandemic and has affected so many lives and economies. But despite this, it is also declared as the Decade of Action to galvanize ambitious actions to deliver on the Goals by 2030. This means accelerating innovative solutions to address the most pressing issues where it matters when it matters.

The Digital Transformation Conference for Environmental Sustainability, convened by UNEP’s West Asia Office, will explore clean technologies, digital tools and applications that can be adopted in the West Asia region to tackle the three planetary crises – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Further, it aims to translate ambitions into real commitments and collaboration from all stakeholders, making use of the best scientific and technological innovations to address pressing global and regional environmental challenges at SPEED, SCALE and IMPACT.

Climate Change The West Asia region has seen an increase in CO2 emissions over recent decades, as a result of growing total energy consumption. This is not only linked to population size and economic activity but is also heavily influenced by energy fuel mix and water and electricity use efficiency. West Asia countries are therefore particularly vulnerable to several natural hazards, from coastal flooding to temperature increases, sea level rise, droughts and desertification. This segment of the conference will discuss digital means that enhance transparency around climate change, air quality and health risks to catalyse public pressure for action.

Nature and Biodiversity Loss In West Asia, there are prevailing anthropogenic pressures in the form of urban expansion, pollution, overconsumption of biological resources beyond the region’s biocapacity of ecosystems, and modification of habitats. These pressures put biological resources at risk, resulting in a number of critical challenges to biodiversity and causing further biodiversity degradation. The session on nature and biodiversity will explore related digital tools and big data analytics that are used to monitor, value and predict risks to natural capital.

Pollution Influenced by the desert dust, coupled with anthropogenic emissions, in particular from historical and current waste practices as well as from the Energy, Industry and Transport sectors, West Asia countries are facing the consequences of health and climate change emissions at the cost of their inhabitants’ present and future livelihoods. The level of air pollutants in this region has increased progressively over the past two decades, contributing to premature death. The pollution segment of the session will explore the full potential of clean technologies and digital applications that can be deployed to reduce waste and pollution.

#Digital_WestAsia

Climate Action

• Full carbon transparency
• Carbon footprint information to consumers
• Innovation and incentives for decarbonization and clean tech
• Energy impacts of ICT

 

Nature Action

• Conservation technology alliance
• Federate data and build digital twin of Earth
• Data and planning support for nature-based solutions
• Supply chain impacts of ICT

 

 Chemicals and Pollution Action

• Pollution sensors and data sharing
• Material traceability and circular design
• Lifecycle analysis and cleaner production methods
• E-waste impacts of ICT

Event Speakers

Inger Andersen is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. Between 2015 and 2019, Ms. Andersen was the Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Ms. Andersen has more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability, strategy and operations. She has led work on a range of issues including agriculture, environmental management, biodiversity conservation, climate change, infrastructure, energy, transport, and water resources management and hydro-diplomacy. Between 1999 and 2014, Ms. Andersen held several leadership positions  at the World Bank including Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa; Vice President for Sustainable Development and Head of the CGIAR Fund Council. Prior to her 15 years at the World Bank, Ms. Andersen worked 12 years at the United Nations, first on drought and desertification, beginning with the UN Sudano-Sahelian Office. In 1992, she was appointed UNDP’s Water and Environment Coordinator for the Arab Region. Ms. Andersen holds a Bachelors from the London Metropolitan University North and a Masters in Development Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Inger.PNG">

 

With over 20 years of experience in management, Mr. Dimassi has extensive experience in multi-lateral and international relations, corporate and policy reform, intergovernmental affairs, strategy design and private sector engagement. Mr. Sami Dimassi joined the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia as Director and Regional Representative in 2017. He held several senior positions in the UN System, such as Senior ICT Advisor, Head of the Innovation Branch, Deputy Director of the Science division, Director of Private Sector Engagement, and Acting Director of Corporate Services all within UNEP. A Lebanese-Canadian national, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Ottawa University and a master’s in Management from Waterloo University in Canada. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/sami_2.PNG">

 

H.E Eng. Mansour Al Mushaiti is Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  He is also currently a board member in the Human Resources Fund, the General Authority for Statistics, the General Investment Authority, PMI, the Saudi Council for Engineers, CFA, and CMI. Also, he was a board member in the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization and the Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority, and he was previously appointed Team Leader for Quality and Continuous Improvement for two years. Moreover, he was a member in both the Supervisory Committee of the King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination and the Administrative Committee of the Saudi National Energy Efficiency and Rationalization Program. He has great achievements; he participated in developing the ministry's vision, objectives and directions and then presented them to the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, reconstructing the ministry in line with its strategic objectives, and proposing a program, in 2016, that aimed at calculating the efficient consumption of water as a basis for determining the value of the support provided for social security beneficiaries. The program also aimed at help paying a part of the monthly water bills and developing the strategy of electricity in the Kingdom in cooperation with the World Bank. Furthermore, he took part in various initiatives, programs and electronic services including DMS, Electricity and Water Usage Calculator, consumption ranges that determine the efficiency of consumption, etc., he was also appointed Manager of a major transport station project which was completed within a record period not exceeding 15 months. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Mansour_1.PNG">

 

H.E Dr. Sheikha Rana bin Isa Bin Duaj Al Khalid is the Secretary-General of the Higher Education Council (HEC), Deputy of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Education Council and a Member of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) in the kingdom of Bahrain. Between the years 2007 to 2021 H.E held various leadership positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including being the first Bahraini women positioned as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. H.E was honored with the Medal of Competence, First Class, from His Majesty the King of the kingdom of Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in addition she earned The Arab Woman Award for Social Responsibility in the Era of Transformation, Development Inclusiveness and Digital Diplomacy by the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. H.E has participated in many events within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations and agencies such as the Asian Cooperation Dialogue Forum, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council. H.E Dr. shaikha Rana earned her PhD in International Law from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Sh.%20Rana.JPG">

 

Chairman of the Board and CEO of The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ghazi.JPG">

 

Mr. David Jensen is the Head of Policy and Innovation at the UNEP Crisis Management Branch and Coordinator of the UNEP Digital Transformation Task Force. He has been pioneering efforts to identify environmental applications of frontier technologies in conflict-affected countries and fragile states, including big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, block chain, virtual reality, and citizen science. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Resource Management, Ecology, Geography and Political Science from the University of Victoria and his Master’s degree in Ecology and Biology from the University of Oxford. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/David%20Jensen.PNG">

 

As a Regional Coordinator for UNEP’s West Asia Office, Mr. Abdelmenam Mohamed has over 15 years’ experience in catalyzing Science for Environmental Policy to promote environmental sustainability and support well-informed decision making at national and regional levels. Abdelmenam manages the delivery of other key UNEP products and services, which include producing the first ever Environment Outlook for the GCC countries and providing web-based tools and technologies to support sharing of environmental data and information from national to global levels. Mr. Abdelmenam holds a doctorate degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Lüneburg in Germany as well as a Master of Engineering in Environmental Protection with special focus on renewable energies from the Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Science, and a BSc in Environmental Studies from the University of Sebha in Libya. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/AMM_0.PNG">

 

Eng. Bayan is the Soil Quality Section Manager at Environment Agency Abu Dhabi- the largest environmental regulator in the middle east. She previously held the position of a senior specialist at the Royal Scientific Society in Jordan. She holds a Master’s degree in Soil, Water and Environment from the Jordan University of Science and technology and has a Business and technical Education Council (BTEC) Professional Diploma, from UK. Bayan has more than 15 years of experience of working with a number of international organizations in soil and water related subjects. Eng. Bayan was the principal investigator in a number of different applied research projects in wastewater and biosolids reuse, Land and Water Management and the use of different soil treatments and their impact on soil quality and the environment. As the current Soil Section Quality Manager at EAD, she was the lead in several soil quality surveys in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Recently she introduced the use of state of the art and cutting edge technologies for mapping contaminated hot spots. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bayan.JPG">

 

Dr. Barbara Hendrie is the Director of UN Environment North America. She has over two decades experience as a senior international diplomat/negotiator and development/humanitarian professional, working for both the United Kingdom and United States governments. She was a senior official in the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) from 1999 to 2015, and a senior political appointee of President Obama based in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2015-2016. Barbara, a native of New York, has a Ph.D. and Masters in social anthropology from University College, London, UK, and a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College in Maine, USA. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Barb.JPG">

 

Currently Air Quality Monitoring Director at IQAir, Yann Boquillod is a serial entrepreneur living in Beijing, the AI hub of China. With a technical and business background in telecom and big data, Yann started several companies including AirVisual (now part of IQAir group). The IQAir AirVisual project brought air quality data to tens of millions of people around the world, making significant impact in numerous countries where pollution prevention policies were implemented based on the IQAir AirVisual data. IQAir is operating the most popular and accurate air quality app on iOS and Android: AirVisual. Yann’s passion is to create solutions that enhance people’s lives. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Yann_0.PNG">

 

Farah Al Barwani is currently serving Research and Development Manager in the Environmental Center of Excellence (ECE) at the Oman Environmental Services Holding Company “be’ah”. Previously, Dr. Al-Barwani was a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). Her current focus at be’ah is to support research and development in waste management, to facilitate integration of broader sustainability initiatives such as circular economy, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and waste management hierarchy. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/farah.JPG">

 

Mr. Majed Aladwan is the Head of State of Environment and Environmental Indicators Section/Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Directorate of Jordan's Ministry of Environment. Under his leadership, the division oversees environmental indicator's production, monitoring, evaluation, and assessment within the various environmental sectors, focusing on topics and sectorial issues with national perspective. Furthermore, he also oversees the deployment, implementation, and administration of the National Monitoring Information System for Waste, a newly developed computerized web-based IT platform for waste management activities and processes. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Majed_0.PNG">

 

Dr. Mohammed Ayoub is the Senior Research Director of the Environment and Sustainability Center at the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI). He holds a M.Sc. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with over 25 years’ experience in applied air quality research and management spanning academia, regulatory agencies, international consulting and the United Nations.  Mohammed’s research focuses on understanding the chemistry and dynamics of the local and regional atmosphere, to develop national policies to mitigate the impacts of poor ambient and indoor air quality on the health and productivity of the Qatari population. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ayoub.JPG">

 

Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator for Spatial Planning at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Marion Marigo is responsible for successfully engaging national stakeholders into spatial planning activities, ensuring efficient and smooth implementation of the project in twelve countries. Working in English, French and Spanish, her responsibilities include: liaising on a daily basis with national counterparts; supervising logistical and administrative aspects of the project, such as budget, terms of reference and procurement; coordinating efforts and activities with the science and policy teams; organizing and facilitating stakeholder consultations and follow-up activities; leading communication and promotional pieces; and exploring new streams of work to sustain and improve project outcomes and products over time. She also supports the development and use of UN Biodiversity Lab by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/MM.JPG">

 

Spatial Planning Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Di Zhang is working with the ELSA team to support spatial data analysis and communication with pilot countries to locate and curate national level data on biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. Di also provides support in data and technical requests from UN Biodiversity Lab users, helps countries to create ELSA collections on the UN Biodiversity Lab platform, and contributes to the capacity building events and training materials on UN Biodiversity Lab and the project, Mapping Nature for People and Planet. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Di.JPG">

 

Mr. Hani Al Tamimi is the Head of Natural Reserve Section of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) of Kuwait where he oversees the organization's initiatives to conserve biodiversity in the natural reserve of Kuwait in hopes of rehabilitating the natural environments. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of Zoology and Anthropology, formerly working in the Wildlife Development Section of the EPA as well as in the Desertification and Combating Unit. He earned a bachelor's degree in Zoology and Anthropology from Kuwait University. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Hani.JPG">

 

Eng. Tariq Qaneer is the Head of Birds’ Projects Management Unit at the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. Under his leadership, the unit focuses on projects that aim to create awareness on the importance of migratory bird protection. He also oversees the study and information collection of bird migration in Jordan in hopes of protecting endangered bird species and maintain the ecological balance in the country. Eng. Qaneer earned his Bachelor's degree in Agriculture/Animal Production from the University of Jordan. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Qaneer_0.PNG">

 

Dr. Aljenaid is an associate Professor of GIS and Environment at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) Bahrain. She has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience in the films of Geographical Information Sciences (GISs) with a particular emphasis on vulnerability assessments and adaptation measures in climate change and sea level rise impacts on coastal zone. Moreover, Aljenaid is interested in facilitation and in using GISs for mapping and modelling land use, land cover changes (LULCC), suitability-sensitivity site and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). Since 2000, Dr. Aljenaid has worked as the technical facilitator for preparing National Communication-Climate Change for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Iraq in collaborating with UNEP-UNDP West Asia Bahrain Office, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC. Recently, Aljenaid joined UNSIDR Arab Cairo Office, Arab STAG (Arab-Science & Technology voluntary group). https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Aljneid.PNG">

 

Nikola Milojevic-Dupont is a fourth-year PhD candidate, working on sustainable urban planning, with a particular focus on applying machine learning techniques to support data-driven public policies in urban areas. He is advised by Prof. Dr. Felix Creutzig and affiliated with both the Mercator Research Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), in the working group Land Use, Infrastructure, Transport, as well as the Technical University Berlin, in the chair of Sustainability Economics of Human Settlements. He is also a founding member of Climate Change AI (CCAI), an organization of volunteers aiming to facilitate impactful work at the intersection between machine learning and climate change. At CCAI, he is Content Committee Chair, and the Community Lead for Buildings and Transportation. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Nikola_0.PNG">

 

Yiannis Bessiris has been supporting companies with their digital transformation projects for over 20 years starting back in 2000 as a process engineer developing digital twin of oil and gas assets and training personnel on optimization of their operations to drive profitability and energy efficiency. He used to manage the software business of Honeywell in Middle East region for 5 years starting in 2013 and he was participating in key software initiatives across all major customers in the region designing and implementing disruptive technologies on asset optimization, Key Performance Indicators studies and artificial intelligence solutions. For the past 3 years he is managing the Advanced Materials business of Honeywell across META region with focus on new technologies on refrigeration, energy efficiency on cold chain processes, medical and ballistic protection markets. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Yiannis.JPG">

 

Chadi Abdallah is a Director of Researcher and Geologist holding a PhD in GIS and RS of natural resources (Paris VI University-France), a Post-doc in Radar Interferometry (University of Missouri-USA). Researcher at the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS-L), Remote Sensing Center. Principle Investigator on several projects related to natural disasters, water information management, modeling and decision-making; assessment, monitoring and management of natural resources and sustainable development. Deputy Director and responsible of the Early Warning System platform (SuNaR), Chair of the Arab Science and Technology Advisory Group (Arab-STAG) for Disaster Risk Reduction of the UNDRR, Member of the CIHEAM scientific Advisory board. Managing Editor for the Lebanese Science Journal (LSJ). Authored and co-authored over 80 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals, and conference proceedings. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Chadi_0.PNG">

 

Regional Growth Leader, GE Grid Solutions https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ayoub1.JPG">

 

Dr. Dietrich Van der Weken obtained a PhD in Mathematics in 2004 at Ghent University. From August 2004 till September 2006, Dietrich was active as postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, where he carried out scientific research in the area of the application of fuzzy logic and fuccy set theory in image processing. In October 2006, Dietrich moved to R&D department of VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company where he was responsible for the management of applied multidisciplinary research projects in cooperation with the companies and research institutes in the domain of Service Oriented Architecture and Business Process Management in media and broadcasting applications. In July 2009, Dietrich started at VITO, a leading technological research institute in Belgium in the area of cleantech and sustainable development. Until December 2016, Dietrich was the Program Manager of MIP, the Environmental and Energy Technology Innovation Platform, a subsidy program that focuses on accelerating the transition to a sustainable management of energy, material and water. Since January 2017, Dietrich is the General Manager of G-STIC, the Global Sustainable Technology & Innovation Community, focusing on accelerating the development, dissemination and deployment of technological innovations that enable the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Van%20der%20W_0.PNG">

 

Samia Melhem is the Global Lead on Digital Capabilities at the World Bank Group. Her responsibilities include investment operations in digital platforms & services as well as thought leadership on digital development. She currently leads several digital government operations, leveraging disruptive technologies to improve delivery of public services; in education, health, and social protection. She is also currently leading research on digital resilience and digital responses to COVID-19 for public service delivery.  During her career at the WBG, Samia led projects in East and Central Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa. She led research on Telecoms Policy and Regulation, Digital government, electronic procurement, cloud computing, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Open data, Private Public Partnerships, and gender inclusion; in collaboration with a range of global partners such as UN, ITU, OECD, WEF, as well as Academic think tanks. She holds degrees in Electrical Engineering (BS), Computer Sciences (MS), and Finance (MBA); as well as various accreditations in project management, leadership, and disruptive technologies. She is a naturalized US citizen, of Lebanese origin. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/samia.JPG">

 

As the Digital Innovation Specialist for Nature, Climate Change and Energy, Ms. Reina Otsuka's many duties include management and quality assurance of environmental projects to enhance biodiversity and climate resilience through innovation and green economy transition. In addition to her many accomplishments, Reina analyses how technologies, both existing and emerging, could support climate resilience. Furthermore, she manages and designs projects in green economy and climate resilience and is the Innovation Lead for Africa under the UNDP Innovation Facility. She has experience in the private sector and in strategic partnerships, having been the CEO of Ecotwaza, an e-commerce platform, and having worked as an independent consultant on social and technological innovation initiatives. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/Reina.PNG">

 

Nermine El Saadany joined the Internet Society in August 2018 and now serves as Regional Vice President for the Middle East. Nermine comes to us from the Government of Egypt where she was the Under-secretary for International Relations at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Nermine is a gifted professional with around 25 years of working experience in the field of Internet policy, research on political economy, international & regional affairs, International Organizations Relations (UN and EU), and ICT diplomacy. She is a seasoned bilateral and multilateral negotiator and a specialist in the design and implementation of information and communications technology (ICTs) development projects and events. Nermine El Saadany holds a Masters in Economics from the American University of Cairo and is on the board of Diplo Foundation. Nermine El Saadany is located in Cairo, Egypt. https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/nermin.JPG">

 

Mr. James Donovan is an entrepreneur focused on impact investing that generates measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial return. With over 25 years of investment banking and entrepreneurial expertise, James has invested in the areas of sustainability, healthcare, education, technology and data management. James redefines and delivers innovative Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions to fortune 1000 corporations. Integrating Big Data expertise into ESG solutions, his companies have developed some of the most advanced applications that promote ethical and sustainable practices in the corporate world. James is also closely involved with the United Nations South-South Cooperation and the UN Environment Programme. He was awarded the 2014 United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation Visionary Awardee and is the Coordinating Lead Author of the Data and Knowledge chapter of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) 6th edition of the Global Environment Outlook 6 (GEO-6). https://assets.unenvironment.org/s3fs-public/inline-images/James%20Donovan.PNG">