In November 1997 a UNESCO-Cousteau Ecotechnie Chair
in Environment and Sustainable Development was created at the Unit of
Environmental Studies and Development (UESD),
Objectives
of the Chair:
The global objectives of the Chair are to
contribute towards promoting national, regional and international
co-operation in harmonizing conservation and sustainable use of natural
resources and their ecosystems.
The objectives of the activities undertaken by
Chair are as follows:
-To promote interdisciplinary education, training,
research and field projects combining socio-economic, human and
environmental sciences, as well as integrated approaches to
policy-making and resource management;
-To build the capacity of
UESD, in order to serve as a Centre of Excellence for Ecotechnie-related,
advanced interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies, vocational
training and research concerning integrated management of natural
resources and sustainable development;
-To design projects
focusing on the integrated management of natural resources of the Wadi
Allaqi Biosphere Reserve and on environmentally sound development of the
-To promote awareness
among policy-makers, educators mId the public regarding integrated
approaches to environmental conservation, natural resource management
and sustainable development;