The headquarters of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) hosted, today morning, the third meeting of the Higher Committee of the Award of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Environmental Management in the Islamic World (KSAAEM). The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Abdulrahman bin Sulaiman Al-Tariki, President of the Award’s Higher Committee, and Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ISESCO Director General, Secretary General of the Award.

The Committee was represented in this meeting by Mr. Bandar bin Dulaim Al-Asmari, Dr. Hussain Mohammad Al-Qahtani, and Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari, and Mr. Mohammed Fouad AlBakri, while ISESCO was represented by Dr. Amina Al-Hajri, Mr. Mohamed Ghemari, Dr. Ahmed Said Ould Bah, Dr. Nabeel Anwar, Mr. Najib Rhiati, Dr. Abdelmajid Tribak, Dr. El Mahjoub Bensaid, Mr. Sami Al Qamhaoui, Mr. Ali Akdim, and Mr. Amine Errahmane Achargui. The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) was represented by Dr. Abdelhakim Al Waer.

At the meeting’s opening session, addresses were delivered by President of the Award’s Higher Committee, and ISESCO Director General wherein they both extended their thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, for his keen interest in the issues of the environment and sustainable development, his eagerness to promote joint Islamic action in different fields; and his continued support for the Award. They also highlighted the importance of this Award and its role in promoting scientific research in the fields of environment and sustainable development, and raising awareness of the importance of protecting and preserving the environment.

Items of the meeting’s agenda included a presentation on the activities of the Award’s General Secretariat, Academic Report on the Award’s Second Edition, presentation on the work of the jury, adopting the list of winners, and looking into the Award’s future action programmes. The meeting also reached agreement on a number of proposals aiming at developing the Award’s organizational, academic and media-related dimensions.

It is worth noting that the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supervises the Award while ISESCO is in charge of managing its General Secretariat. The Award covers five categories, namely best research works in the field of environmental management, best practices in the field of  environmental management in the public sector in Member States, best practices in the field of environmental management in the private sector in Member States, best leading practices in the field of  environmental management  in NGOs that can be replicated in Member States, and best environmentally-friendly Muslim cities.

The Award is to be handed to its winners (17 winners from 13 Muslim countries) during the opening ceremony of the Eighth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, to be held on 2 October 2019, at ISESCO headquarters.