Rabat: 20/04/2019

At Opening Session of the Fifth Session of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment at ISESCO headquarters, ISESCO Director General stresses the role of youth and civil society in the protection of the environment and sustainable development.

Dr. Abdelaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) delivered an address at the opening session of the Fifth Meeting of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment (IEBE), held today morning at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat,  in the presence of Dr. Khalil Bin Musleh Al Thaqafi, President of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia (GAMEP), Chairman of the Islamic Executive Bureau for the Environment; Ambassador Irfan Shaukat, Director General of Science and Technology at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); IEBE members; and a host of interested personalities.

In his address Dr. Altwaijri, commended the generous care of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, may Allah preserve him, Monarch of Morocco, to ISESCO and for his high patronage of the 3^rd, 6^th and 7^th sessions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which were held in Rabat.

He also thanked the Custodian of the Tow Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, may Allah preserve him, for his great attention to environmental issues and environment protection, and his generous support to ISESCO to hold the sessions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers and the meetings of its Executive Bureau, and his kind approval to entrust ISESCO with the General Secretariat of the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Award for Environmental Management in the Islamic World” (KSAAEM), and expand its scope to cover the whole Islamic world.

ISESCO Director General said that this meeting is being held amid a growing awareness about various environmental issues, which consequently influence the ongoing progress of joint Islamic environmental and development action whose fields and issues have expanded and varied; adding that the Islamic action has become one of the active and influential elements which promote Islamic solidarity; constitutes the cornerstones of joint Islamic action; and  stands as a symbol of integration, cooperation, coordination and exchange of opinions, expertise and experiences among Member States in this vital sector which immensely impacts the promotion of the practical, scientific and technological capacities to protect the environment and establish comprehensive sustainable development in the Islamic world on firm bases and scientific methods widely adopted in the most developed countries.

In addition, Dr. Altwaijri noted that the agenda of this meeting mirrors the current level of Islamic environmental action as part of the follow-up to the implementation of the resolutions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, saying that its meeting reflects the development made as part of the activities of the Conference’s Executive Bureau. He added that this session, attesting to the increasing burden and highlighting Member States’ interest in the development and success of the environmental action, would adopt eleven projects and reports.

He also pointed out that this meeting would handle crucial topics through the reports submitted to it including the Report of the Director General on ISESCO’s Efforts in the fields of Environment and Sustainable Development between the 7^th and 8^th Sessions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers; the Report on the Activation of the Executive Plan for Natural Risk Reduction and Management in Member States;  a report on the launch of the programme of “the Celebration of the Environmentally Friendly Islamic Capitals” in accordance with the recommendations of the 7^th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which adopted the creation of the “Islamic Green City Excellence Award”, to become the fifth category of KSAAEM as a “tribute to the best Environmentally-Friendly Islamic City”, in line with the “Guidance Document on Green Cities and their Role in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals”.

Furthermore, Dr. Altwaijri revealed that the meeting would discuss a comprehensive report on the progress of the current edition of KSAAEM (2018-2019), and the progress report on the arrangements for the creation of the “Islamic Academy for Environment and Sustainable Development” whose civilizational project has been proposed by His Majesty King Mohamed VI, may Allah preserve him noting that the 3^rd Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers adopted this great project and tasked ISESCO to follow it up with the Moroccan Government.

“Conscious of the importance of cooperation in promoting and developing joint Islamic environmental and development action through the strategic methodological complementarity between field action and the planning dictated by the constant development of environmental action at the international level, ISESCO has submitted to this meeting the ‘Strategy for the Activation of the Cultural and Religious Factors in Protecting the Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development in the Islamic World’ as a project which intended to meet the Islamic world’s needs to join the international community’s efforts in the fields of environment protection and sustainable development”, Dr. Altwaijri stated.

ISESCO Director General further said that, being convinced of the necessity to update the action in this vital field and aware of the importance of youth and society in the activation of joint environmental action, ISESCO elaborated an a “Guidance Document on Promoting the Role of Youth and Society in Protecting Environment and Achieving Sustainable Development” to serve as an effective tool to activate the untapped potentials of Member States’ communities and increase their contribution to the protection of environment and sustainable development in both the Islamic world and around the globe.