H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, headed the national delegation at the 19th Meeting of GCC Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs organized recently in Qatar.
The gathering discussed the results of the previous meetings held within the framework of the Gulf Environment Conference, including cooperation with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia, the Republic of Turkey, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Japan. It also reviewed the study undertaken for the establishment of the Environmental Monitoring Center of GCC countries and the Gulf Environmental Partnership and Action Program (GEPAP) along with the activation of the Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation which commenced with the holding of training programs.
Kuwait showcased the Gulf Environmental Electronic Portal Project as well as debated the threads on the Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and Their Natural Habitats in the Countries of the GCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Members commended the UAE for its upcoming hosting of the 27th Meeting of the Montreal Protocol that will take place in Dubai from November 1 to 5, 2015.
Furthermore, members were briefed about the rules and regulations issued under the guideline of the GCC and the results of the Environmental Awareness and Information Meetings of the GCC countries.
In addition, the meeting reviewed the draft of the Strategy for Integrated Management of Water Resources in the Islamic World along with the mechanisms of the Commission on the Gulf Green Environment Initiative, including its sustainable development, committees, and task forces. A working committee under the chairmanship of H.E Abdel Rahim Mohammed Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Environment & Water, has been formed to develop a strategy for the work of the Committee of Ministers. The strategy will be based on the Statute of the GCC Plan and the decisions and directives related to joint action as this strategy includes the vision, mission, objectives, and actions.
The UAE delegation comprised H.E Abdel Rahim Mohammed Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water; Eng. Youssif Al-Ahmad Al Rayssi, Director of Waste Management Department; and Ahmed Al Hashmi, Director of Biodiversity Department.