BACKGROUND as a complement to North-South cooperation, to bridge science and policy gaps in achieving Our planet is under increasing threats from sustainable development goals and climate targets. ecological degradation, declining biodiversity, This must involve support in nancing, technology worsening desertication and frequent extreme and capacity building to help developing countries weather events pose severe challenges to human transition to green and low-carbon development. survival. Particularly, 1 billion people in over 100 developing countries are locked in the cycle of In recognition of this, and in commemoration of poverty and environmental degradation made World Environment Day 2021 themed with worse by the eects of climate change. On the other ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, COMSATS Centre for hand, healthy ecosystems and their services Climate and Sustainability (CCCS) in collaboration provide opportunities for sustainable economic with the United Nations Environment prosperity while at the same time providing Programme-International Ecosystem Management defense against the negative eects of climate Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) will organize a virtual change. When applicable, Ecosystem Restoration conference on “Ecosystem Restoration in the Global should be an important component of South” on 7 June 2021 to celebrate the continuous conservation and development eorts so that the eorts around developing regions in conserving livelihoods of people depending on these and restoring ecosystems and spearheading degraded ecosystems can be sustained in a post-COVID-19 recovery. changing climate. Embracing the theme of Ecosystem Restoration this World Environment Day 2021 A wealth of knowledge, experience, and good virtual conference will bring together key experts in practices has been accumulated by many of the elds of ecosystem restoration, conservation Virtual Conference on developing countries in the domain of ecosystem and sustainable management from the Global restoration. As an example, the Chinese Ecosystem South to share good practices and lessons learnt of Ecosystem Restoration Research Network (CERN) has established a unique ecosystem research and management, as well as to approach of integrating monitoring and research explore partnership opportunities to further in the Global South with demonstration and national policy setting collaborate on the topics of ecosystem restoration. Monday, 7 June 2021 3:00-5:00 PM (GMT+5) which directly supports decision-making for ecosystem management. Times has come to promote South-South exchange and cooperation, r Climate fo a e nd tr n S e u Meeting Link: C s t a S i for any query, please contact T n A a S b i l M i t O y C https://zoom.us/meeting/register/ Mr. Saifullah Dilazak, Program Ocer CCCS tJYtfuiprj4qGNIF5uQmMBChqeLYmkqkUBQG Email: [email protected] MALIK AMIN ASLAM Director of International Aairs, Ministry of missions in Paris, New York and Washington. Environment, Finland Malik Amin Aslam is the Special Assistant (rank of In addition to his work in international relations and Federal Minister) to the Prime Minister of In fact, Kerstin started her UNEP career as a Junior diplomacy, Ambassador Kamal has taken keen interest Pakistan on Climate Change. He is Professional Ocer in the Convention on Biological in areas of climate change, higher education, honorarily serving as the elected Diversity Secretariat in Montreal 1996-1998. technology and entrepreneurship. Ambassador Kamal Global Vice President of IUCN established the Centre for Climate Research & (International Union for DR. LINXIU ZHANG Development at COMSATS University in Islamabad, and Conservation of Nature). He has was instrumental in setting up the Centre for previously chaired the agship “Green Dr. Linxiu Zhang, TWAS Fellow, UNEP senior sta and Entrepreneurial Development at the Institute of Growth initiative” for the KPK province in Pakistan – Director, UNEP-International Ecosystem Business Administration in Karachi. He participated in which included the mass forestation “Billion Tree Management Partnership the UNFCCC led negotiations on climate change from Tsunami” project. (UNEP-IEMP), a joint center between 2007 to 2012 and was member of Pakistan delegation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences UN Climate Summit Conferences in Copenhagen (2009) He served as Member of Parliament from 2002-07 and (CAS) and UNEP. She is leading the and Paris (2015). from 2004-07 as Minister of State for Environment and, implementation of UNEP’s agship in this capacity, has been the architect of the country’s programme focusing on the nexus of MR. JAMIL AHMAD National Policies on environment and climate change. climate change, ecosystem services and sustainable Malik Amin Aslam has worked as the Prime Minister’s livelihoods (CEL) through South-South cooperation. She Mr. Jamil Ahmad is Director, Intergovernmental Aairs, special envoy for reform of the UN governance system. is aliated with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and UN Environment Programme, New York. He has also had the privilege of chairing the G77+China Natural Resources Research as a senior research fellow of He leads work on sustainable negotiations group and leading Pakistan’s climate CAS and a professor at the University of Chinese Academy development and the environment change negotiations at various COP meeting since 1999. of Sciences (UCAS). Her research interest is on policy in support of the organization’s relevant studies relating to poverty alleviation and policies and programmes. He has been chosen to serve on the high level sustainable livelihoods, poverty-environment dynamics, “International Advisory Council” for the Eco-Forum climate change adaptation and gender. She is the winner A s an advocate of sustainability, he regularly Global – an environmental think-tank advising the of TWAS “Celso-Furtado Prize” in Social Sciences and engages with think thanks, universities, and research Government of China. Mr. Malik is an electrical engineer “Fudan Management Excellence Award”. institutes, speaks to civil society groups, ocial with an MBA from McGill University and an MSc from delegations, students and other stakeholders about Oxford University. AMBASSADOR SHAHID KAMAL environment, climate change and sustainable development. He has been representing the UN MS. KERSTIN STENDAHL Ambassador Shahid Kamal is Advisor at the Commission Environment in international events and conferences. on Science and Technology for Ms. Kerstin Stendahl is Head of the Ecosystems Sustainable Development in the A senior career diplomat, Mr. Jamil Ahmad entered the Integration Branch supporting and South (COMSATS). He is the Founder Foreign service of Pakistan in 1986 and has served in servicing Regional Seas, Poverty and and Head of COMSATS Centre for several duty stations in Asia, Europe and Africa with rich Environment Action for Sustainable Climate and Sustainability, a network experience of bilateral and multilateral aairs. He Development Goals and the of the Global South, which he set up in participated in numerous important UN and other International Ecosystems 2019 to focus on inter-connections of intergovernmental meetings. He was lead negotiator of Management Partnership. Prior to the climate change and sustainable development. G77 and China for Climate Change. current post, she was the Deputy secretary of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Ambassador Kamal has been a career diplomat of DR. ERNEST FOLI Change (IPCC) from Jan 2017 until March 2020 She Pakistan, served as Ambassador to Germany, Sweden & joined UNEP in Nov.2012 served as Deputy executive Finland. He held senior positions at the Ministry of Dr. Ernest Foli is a Principal Research Scientist and former secretary, UNEP/ Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Foreign Aairs, Prime Minister’s Oce, Organization of Deputy-Director at the CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Conventions.Before she joined UNEP, she was the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, and diplomatic Ghana. He holds a PhD and MPhil in Forestry from the University of Aberdeen, UK. He has 33 years’ experience in Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN). He research has focused on assessing the tolerance of forestry research and has held several has over 10 years of experiences on monitoring individual species to drought as well as phytoremediation management positions during this and research on Loess Plateau restoration potential of tree species on mined sites Other research areas period. His current eld of interest is under China`s Grain for Green include the study of impacts of re on farming systems and Forest Landscape Restoration for programme. Dr. Liu is experienced in socio-economic status of farmers in forest fringe climate change mitigation and soil erosion and eco-hydrological communities and on conservation eorts including adaptation. With more than 18 years’ monitoring and modeling, and conservation of endemic species and community teaching experience he currently application of remote sensing for involvement in forest landscape restoration. coordinates a postgraduate programme in Climate ecosystem observation and assessment. He focused on the Change and Integrated Natural Resources Management. relationship between landscape pattern and earth surface PROF. TERRENCE FORRESTER processes, and ecosystem services ow in the context of Dr. Foli was one of the 15 eminent scientists appointed by landscape change. He got his Ph.D on landscape ecology Prof. Forrester, who is Director of UWI SODECO, is a the UN General Assembly to draft