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Opening of the Eye on Earth exhibition in 2011.

650 experts for Abu Dhabi environmental summit

ABU DHABI, April 1, 2015

More than 650 delegates from government, UN bodies and the private sector will discuss the information gap policy makers face in designing plans for sustainable development at an upcoming conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The Eye on Earth Summit 2015 will run from October 6 to 8 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Experts will explore solutions and actions necessary for greater access to, and sharing of, environmental, social and economic data to support sustainable development.

The summit will address the profound impact that rapid economic and industrial development is having on natural resources, biodiversity and consumption patterns around the world. It will also focus on the need for evidence-based decision-making that can benefit from the available wealth of scientific data, information and knowledge, if they are made more accessible to all.

“Sustainable development across the globe is being hindered because policy makers lack access to data that would improve decision-making,” said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, secretary general Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

“This summit will develop ways of closing the data gap between what citizens and decision makers need to know, and what is available and accessible. It will look at solutions for greater access to, sharing and application of environmental, social and economic data through science, technology and citizen participation.”

Eye on Earth is a collaborative effort between the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi through the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), and the Eye on Earth Alliance, a partnership of organisations that aim to build and mobilise global support for access to environmental data.

As part of its ongoing expansion, the Alliance has recently grown to include, in addition to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).

“This year world leaders will convene for a number of major sustainable development events, among them the summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda and the climate change conference in Paris,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP executive director Achim Steiner. “The decisions made at these meetings will shape the way forward on sustainable development and climate action for years to come.”

“For leaders to make the right decisions in such global processes, reliable, ample and timely data is absolutely essential. One of UNEP’s key roles has long been to work with partners to provide the data that informs this science-policy interface,” he added. “Partnerships such as Eye on Earth are living proof of the new frontiers in knowledge and data, as well as the leadership role that Abu Dhabi has shown in this endeavour.”

A global audience will participate in the summit and contribute to the dialogue via online and social media tools. Information on how to take part in the event will be shared via the Eye on Earth website.

Barbara J Ryan, director Group on Earth Observations, said: “Expanding the Eye on Earth Alliance and convening the Eye on Earth 2015 Summit are critical steps to ensure that data, information and knowledge are made open and accessible to decision makers across the societal spectrum. Only with these vital tools can we all make the informed decisions necessary to preserve the planet.”

“This summit will shine a spotlight on the importance of securing better, more accessible data to improve decision making,” said Andrew Steer, president and CEO, World Resources Institute.

“With extraordinary leaps forward in technology, remote sensing, and digital communication, people have an unprecedented ability to understand how development affects natural resources, the economy and our planet. This summit will bring together leaders at a critical moment to improve how we can use data and information to shape the future development agenda.”

IUCN director General Inger Andersen said: “The summit offers a rare opportunity to shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting knowledge products, such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, so that they can deliver the critical data to guide the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.” – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: abu dhabi | Environment | Eye on Earth Summit |

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