Emirati official joins advisory board of UN's ecosystem restoration project

Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, secretary general of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, says she is honoured to be selected

Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri has been selected on the advisory board of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration project. Salah Malkawi for The National

A leading Emirati environmentalist has joined the advisory board of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration project.

Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, secretary general of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, said she was honoured to be selected.

The organisation brings together world leaders and environmentalists to take action on ecosystem restoration – the rehabilitation and conservation of environments that have been degraded or destroyed.

“It is such an honour to be selected to be part of the advisory board of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which is renowned for having prominent environmentalists spanning across several countries globally,” Dr Al Dhaheri said.

“It is an opportunity to exchange ideas and share Abu Dhabi’s experience in protecting ecosystems as well as exploring best practices with a variety of organisations – all with a common goal.”

Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, help to produce more fertile soils and bigger yields of timber and fish.

Between now and 2030, restoration could help remove 13 to 26 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, the UN has said.

Dr Al Dhaheri has overseen the achievement of numerous programmes on biodiversity, protected areas, threatened species and fisheries, including national and global species resettlement programmes.

She began her career at EAD as a research assistant in the agency’s terrestrial and marine Biodiversity sector in 2000, and was appointed as executive director of the division in 2012.

“As environmentalists we all need to have educational platforms to create awareness of the importance of our ecosystems because they inevitably sustain us and are home to millions of species that we need to protect,” Dr Al Dhaheri said.

“Through the use of media, visual arts, digital tools and viral movements, we are obliged to shed light on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration so that we all join forces to place the environment high up in our societies.”