As part of its activities at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held an international seminar on enhancing water security, biodiversity and peace through innovation and Earth observation, in partnership with the Islamic Organization for Food Security and the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), to discuss the mechanisms to address water scarcity challenges through the use of technology and environmental peacebuilding. The symposium saw the launch of ICESCO’s new water sustainability collaboration platform.

The symposium kicked off on Saturday ( 16 November 2024) with Dr. Hisham Al-Askari, Advisor to ICESCO Director General, who gave an overview of its topics and highlighted the importance of discussing this vital topic, praising the expertise and visions of the speakers, before initiating the discussion.

Answering a question about ICESCO’s efforts on water security, biodiversity and peacebuilding, Dr. Salim Al-Malik, Director General of ICESCO, underlined that the Organization is leveraging the vast knowledge and cultures of Member States to address pressing challenges, noting that ICESCO’s innovative platform will serve as a cooperation and knowledge exchange hub by harnessing Earth observation technologies and data analytics to monitor water resources.

Regarding ICESCO’s approach to merging technology and heritage, Dr. Malik stressed that this approach is at the core of the Organization’s sustainable development strategy, believing that the integration of modern technologies with the Islamic world’s rich heritage will contribute to building resilience between cultural identity and future preparedness.

In his intervention, Ambassador Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director of COMSATS, emphasized the importance of cooperation to achieve water security and provided examples of hostile acts throughout history that have threatened water security. For his part, Mr. Stewart Maginnis, Deputy Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, highlighted the importance of integrating solutions to conserve natural resources and employ technology in this framework; while Mr. Samaddin Asadov, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Space Agency (Azercosmos), tackled the role that satellites can play in addressing the challenges of water poverty.

Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Climate Change, shared Pakistan’s experience and government initiatives to achieve water security. Mr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Policy Institute, emphasized the importance of adopting appropriate policies and using available technologies to support water security initiatives.

Dr. Al-Askari then outlined the key aspects of ICESCO’s Water Sustainability Collaboration Data Solutions Hub, pointing out that this platform aims to bring together various stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to address water and biodiversity challenges by integrating modern technologies and environmental practices.