Role and Selection of Regional Facilitators
Two Regional Facilitators per region are selected by accredited organizations, preferably by means of an electronic nomination and voting process self-organized by accredited organizations or – upon request – by UN Environment whereby accredited organizations are asked to nominate and elect two Regional Facilitators, with attention to gender and sub-regional balance.
These candidates are asked to attend the UNEA, and to have the relevant expertise of the thematic issues to be dealt with at the upcoming session, if the theme is already known. Regional Facilitators must come from organizations accredited to UNEP and ideally be from different sub-regions to ensure a more balanced representation (Latin America and Caribbean for example or South and North Africa, or USA and Canada etc.). They normally serve a minimum two-year term – or until the next election – and participate as observers on the Major Groups Facilitating Committee. Regional Facilitators are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct presented in UNEP’s Stakeholder Engagement Handbook.
They may use the title: “Regional Facilitators of Major Groups and Stakeholders, Name of the Region.” Regional Facilitators play a purely facilitating and expert role and have no mandate to formally represent their region or Major Groups and Stakeholders from their region. They may present agreed positions emerging from Regional Consultative Meetings as well as from other consultation mechanisms developed during their period of mandate. They are specifically selected to ensure agreed Major Groups and Stakeholders’ regional views are presented to UNEA and its subsidiary organs, as well as in other meetings that may be convened. In the absence of positions agreed among Major Groups from a specific region, Regional Facilitators are not entitled to make official statements on behalf of their region.
Regional Facilitators as of June 2021
Africa
Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, Morocco
Mr. Ayman Cherkaoui is the Coordinator for the Mohammed VI Prize for the Climate and Sustainable Development as well as Strategic Development Officer at the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection. Ayman is Regional Facilitator of Major Groups and Stakeholders, Africa, elected by African organisations accredited to UNEP. Ayman is also Lead Counsel for Climate Change at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law, Judge for the SDG Action Awards, Obama Foundation: Africa Leader, Ambassador for the Adaptation without Borders Initiative, and Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader. Ayman has academic background in Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Finance, Law and Engineering.
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Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA)
David N. Munene is the Programs Manager at the Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA), a regional network that offers a platform for young people of faith in Africa to respond to the twin challenges of environmental degradation and climate change from a faith perspective through networking and advocacy, formation and awareness creation, and support for local grassroots action. He currently sits at the Board of the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and is an advisor to the UNEP Faith4Earth Youth Council. David is a YALI (Young African Leaders' Initiative) fellow and served as the first National President of Kenya's Ecosystems-based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) Chapter. He has been involved in the UNEP and the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) processes since 2014 and continues to support the engagement and amplification of the voice of African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and particularly that of African youth.
Asia Pacific
IBON International Foundation, Philippines
Sarojeni V. Rengam is the Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PANAP), a regional network working towards the elimination of the hazards of pesticides and the promotion of sustainable agriculture. She is the Chairperson of IBON Foundation International which has ECOSOC status. She has been active in the APRCEM (Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism) and the Environment working group of the APRCEM.
She was one of the founders and presently in the Steering Committee of the Asian Rural Women’s Conference and Coalition (ARWC) and is also one of the founders and is now in the Steering Committee for Asia Pacific of People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS). Rengam is an author of numerous books, published papers and articles on issues of women in agriculture, pesticide issues and food sovereignty including “Pesticides and YOU” which has been translated into 10 languages, She is also one of the authors of a book, “Of Rights and Poisons: Accountability of the Agrochemical Industry,” that documents the impact of pesticides in 7 countries in Asia.
Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON), India
Ajay K Jha is the director of CECOEDECON (Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society, India) and has more than 18 years’ experience in the development sector. A lawyer by education and training he is also associated with PAIRVI & MAUSAM (India), Asia Pacific Research Network (Manila) and Asia Pacific Regional CSOs Engagement Mechanism. He has been following and contributing to national and global issues, policies and practices on climate change, SDGs, environment sustainable agriculture and food and human rights.
Europe
European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Belgium
Patrizia has been working as an advocate for global justice at the intersection of environment, human rights and development for 15 years mainly with NGOs in Europe and Asia. As Director for Global Policies and Sustainability at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), she leads the organisation’s work on sustainable development and follows intergovernmental processes at regional and international level. She is part of the Steering Group of SDG Watch Europe and closely follows the implementation of the SDGs in and by the EU. She supervises projects on environmental justice and fighting environmental racism, on the economic transition and on EU enlargement policies. Patrizia holds M.A. in Comparative Literature and Political Science and an LL.M in International Human Rights Law.
Journalists for Human Rights, North-Macedonia
As founder and program director of Journalists for Human Rights, and with a strong foundation in environmental journalism, Natasha has dedicated her career to amplifying the voices advocating for a sustainable world. Her expertise extends to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, WASH, Environmental education, Chemicals, Forestation and Climate justice issues, where she has collaborated with diverse stakeholders towards achieving the SDGs. Her passion for environmental justice has driven her to address the intersectionality of environmental issues, recognizing the disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities. And through her work, she has fostered partnerships that bridge the gap between information dissemination and grassroots action. As a regional facilitator, she committs to empower CSOs across Europe to effectively engage on environmental challenges. By harnessing her skills in journalism, WASH, and environmental justice, she aims at catalysing collective efforts towards a more sustainable, just, and inclusive future for all.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Defensores do Planeta
Mauro Pereira, Brazilian, graduated in biological sciences at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. He has a postgraduate degree in solid waste - at Universidade Gama Filho and a Masters degree in toxicology from Université Paris Diderot - France. He coordinated the Pro - youth and adolescent environmental education program of the Ministry of Social Development in Brazil. Additionally, he is the Executive Director of the NGO Defensores do Planeta and has been working in the socio-environmental area and national and international advocacy with countries for 20 years. Mauro was UNESCO Agenda 21 coordinator in the west zone of Rio and at the invitation of UNEP, he worked on building the socio-environmental legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. He also works on the implementation of the 2030 agenda in Brazil and is a facilitator of the Brazilian Environmental Education Network, working with education on climate change and youth. He works in the dialogue between civil society and companies on the 2030 agenda in the Global Compact - Brazil. He has participated in the construction of the plan for sustainable development and climate change for the city of Rio and the construction of the civil society participation mechanism in the sustainable development forum for Latin America and the Caribbean with ECLAC. Mauro was also the focal point of Latin America in the ecological and environmental justice of the 2030 agenda
Yarivith González Venezuelan, has a licenciate degree in chemistry, a master's degree in environmental sciences and environmental impact, master's degree in environmental, education and sustainable development. PhD student in Chemistry in UNSL-Argentina. Researcher to the recycling of lithium ion batteries from electric cars and electronic waste, environmental impact, circular economy, chemicals contaminated, environmental management and climate change mitigation. She is part of the NGO "Juventud Unida en Acción" from Venezuela, dedicated to strengthen the environmental perspective of the youth and the empowerment of civil society in decision making spaces at national, regional and global. She has been dedicated to the training of university students, environmental activism, gender perspective and vulnerable groups. She has been present in the Stockholm+50 dialogue process and has been actively following UNEA 5 in the clusters the chemical, circular economy and mining clusters. She is also the author of a patent for recycling processes and author of several scientific articles published in high level journals.
North America
Prof. Medani P. Bhandari, Ph.D., is an International Program Director at the Atlantic States Legal Foundation Inc. (ASLF) in New York, USA. has a multidisciplinary background and specializes in climate resilience and adaptation. Nonprofit management, sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, inequality, etc. He is a well-known humanitarian, professor, author, editor, and co-editor of several books and authors of hundreds of scholarly papers on social and environmental sciences, a poet, essayist, environment, social activist, and so on. His field experiences span Asia, Africa, North America, Western Europe, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East. His most recent books are Green Web-II Standards and Perspectives from the IUCN (2018), 2nd Edition 2020, Getting the Climate Science Facts Right The Role of the IPCC; Reducing Inequalities Towards Sustainable Development Goals Multilevel Approach; Educational Transformation, Economic Inequality – Trends, Traps, and Trade-offs; Social Inequality as a Global Challenge; the Unbeatable Challenges of Inequality; Perspectives on Sociological Theories; Methodological Debates and Organizational Sociology; Women and Society; Social Inequality Past, Present, and Future and Live and Let Others Live, in References to Sustainability and Environment, Transforming Future-Community, Governance and Environment, Climate Change and Land Use Change Nexus, etc. In addition to his service at ASLF, he is also remotely serving as a Professor at Akamai University, USA, Sumy State University, Ukraine, and Gandaki University, Nepal. https://www.akamai.university/dr-medani-bhandari-phd.html (Prof. Bhandari is also a Lead Author for Chapter 21, COP 7, Global Environment Outlook Project of UNEP and a member of the taskforces Climate Resilience and Adaptation and Behavior and Social Sciences).
Jennifer Garard, PhD, is the Deputy Director of Future Earth Canada and Sustainability in the Digital Age and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University. Her work focuses on bringing people together from different communities and research domains to cultivate mutual understanding and to create collaborative work environments where global challenges are tackled collectively. Her areas of expertise include stakeholder engagement at the interface of digital technologies and environmental sustainability and addressing divergent viewpoints through collective foresight and intelligence. Previously, Jennifer was a researcher with the working group Scientific Assessments, Ethics, and Public Policy at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, and an intern with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Health and Biodiversity Cross-Cutting Initiative. She holds a BSc in Environmental Science from McGill University (2008), a Master of Environmental Assessment from Concordia University (2013), and a PhD from the Technische Universität Berlin (“Stakeholder Engagement at the Science-Policy Interface,” 2018).
West Asia
Saudi Green Building Forum
An architect, volunteer and community builder in full capacity for the planet's future.
Founder of Saudi Green Building Forum, Chief Representative to the United Nations.
ALFADL strongly believes in protecting the planet and building resilience are the essentials advocacy to champion Climate Changee, it would be nearly impossible — and substantially more expensive — to keep global warming in check without bolstering localization of actions through the mobilisation of our collective partnerships and volunteers hand in hand with civil society for successful Sustainable Development Goals.
Kuwait environment protection society
Chairperson of Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS) since 2015, State of Kuwait. Holds a Bachelor of Science in 1995 from Kuwait University, majoring in Microbiology and Zoology.
Honorable Doctorate of Environmental responsibility NGOs. 2018. * Founder of Civil Emergency Management Unit at Eagle Resolve military training 2015. Secretary-General of the "Kuwait Environment Protection Society between 2010 and 2015.
Planning and Preparedness Department Director at the "GCC Emergency Center Management in the General Secretariat of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC-EMC, 2015-2019). Head of the GCC-EMC in the General Secretariat of the Arab Cooperation Council since February (February) 2019.
Founder and Secretary General of the General Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development in the General Union of Arab Producers of the League of Arab States since June 2018. Board Member of Kuwait Environment Public Authority since July 2015. President of the "Gulf Network of Environmental NGOs" since July 2015. Worked within the work team of the Environmental Protection Law No. 42 of 2014 and the internal regulations.
Founder of the Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of the Environmental Protection Law in the Ministry of Electricity 2016.
Find out more about the Regional Facilitating Committee mandate in its Terms of References.
