Training and Meetings

Organized the following training workshops and meetings:

• Arab Millennium Regional Coordination Meeting, 30 - 31 Mar. 2005, Cairo – Egypt
• Training Workshop on Integrated Environmental Assessment and Reporting for Syria, 12 - 15 Feb. 2005, Damascus – Syria.
• West Asia GEO Data Portal Meeting, 11 - 12 Jan. 2005, Abu Dhabi - U.A.E.
• Regional Meeting on Experiences & Best Practices in Environmental Information Development & Management in West Asia, 9 - 10 Jan. 2005, Abu Dhabi - U.A.E.
• West Asia First Production and Authors Meeting for GEO-4, 29 - 31 August 2005, Manama, Bahrain

Co-organized:

• Launch of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in Cairo, 30 Mar. 2005, Cairo – Egypt.
• Expert Group Meeting on the Development of a Strategy for Natural Disaster Management, 5-6 June 2005, Tripoli, Libya.
• Expert Meeting on Access to Information for Citizens Participation in ESCWA Countries, 27-28 June 2005, Beirut, Lebanon

Participated in:

• Global Land Cover Network, West Asia and North Africa Workshop, 19 - 23 Mar. 2005, Sharm El-Sheikh.
• ROPME/UNEP High-level Meeting on the Restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshlands, 28 Feb. - 1 Mar. 2005, Manama – Bahrain.
• AGEDI/AD-SNIPP Plan Preparation Workshop, and the Press Conference and Launch of AGEDI-Abu Dhabi, 3 Feb. 2005, Abu Dhabi - U.A.E.
• Meeting of Stakeholders and Sector Experts for SoE Report of Abu Dhabi, 29-31 May 2005, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Capacity Building

• Within the framework of DEWA-West Asia’s regional capacity building programme on integrated environmental assessment (IEA), technical support is being provided to countries in the region for the preparation of National Environment Outlook reports
• In strengthening capacity in integrated environmental assessment and state of environment reporting, DEWA West Asia worked on finalizing a regional strategy on capacity building for integrated environmental assessment with a major goal to integrate the IEA approach into the decision-making and policy frameworks for sustainable development in the Region.
• DEWA West Asia assisted in providing support to the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME), for the preparation of their State of the Marine Environment report.

GEO-4

• DEWA West Asia started setting the stage for the preparation of West Asia input to GEO-4 and has been coordinating the regional plans. The West Asia First Production and Authors Meeting for GEO-4 was conducted 29-31 August 2005 in Manama, Bahrain.
• West Asia has also been coordinating the development of input to the GEO Yearbook.
• DEWA West Asia has initiated the implementation of the West Asia GEO Data Portal.

Arab Millennium Ecosystem Sub-Global Assessment

• DEWA West Asia has been coordinating the Arab Millennium Ecosystem Sub-Global Assessment in three sites in the Arab region. Development of the Millennium Ecosystem Sub-Global Assessment Website is also underway.

Arab Millennium Ecosystem Sub-Global Assessment

• Supported Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), as a strategic partner on the initiative and in support of regional and national efforts in environmental information development and management.
• Organized and coordinated a regional and a global study for AGEDI. The regional study, named "West Asia Regional Study on the Experience in the Development of Environmental Data and Information Systems," produced 12 national studies, and 4 regional cases, in addition to the integrated study.
• Development of knowledge bases for integrated environmental assessment for the 12 countries in the region.
• Finalized guidelines on the development and use of core environmental indicators for West Asia.
• Distribution of national Landsat data to countries in the region for 1990 and 2000. This will provide a source of information for assessment and monitoring of changes in the environment, as well as early warning of emerging environmental threats.
• Providing support for the development of information systems in Yemen and Syria.