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Dr S Faizi made review editor of Global Environment Outlook 7 produced by UNEP

By Susan Lal Thomas* 
Dr S Faizi, eminent ecologist and UN Environmental Negotiator, has been selected as Review Editor of the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) being produced by the United Nations Environment Program.
The GEO assesses the state and direction of the planet's environment, especially in relation to the Agenda 21 adopted by the UN Conference on Environment (Earth Summit), and is produced every four years since 1997. GEO guides in international environmental policy decisions and national level policy reforms and actions.
The team of authors is comprised of experts nominated by governments and other stakeholders, and their work has already commenced. Review Editor's role is to review the different generations of texts as they are developed. The GEO 7 process is Co-Chaired by a committee of four, including Dr Robert Watson who had shared the Nobel Peace Prize 2007, nominated by UK. GEO 7 is expected to be released in the first half of 2025.
Dr S Faizi has been an active negotiator articulating the global South’s arguments in key UN environmental events such as the Earth Summit, formation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, etc. He has played an active role in the negotiations on the CBD Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted a year ago. A field biologist trained under Dr Salim Ali, Dr S Faizi has been a consultant to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN, UNDP, Japan International Cooperation Agency and biodiversity advisor to several state governments in India as well as in Denmark, Nepal, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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*Environmental teacher, lives between Brantford, Canada, and Quilon, India

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