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Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

Eye on Earth Summit & Exhibition

ABU DHABI, 12TH 15TH DECEMBER 2011

From a moment to a movement.

Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, Eye on Earth is a global summit meeting devoted to the issue of greater access to environmental and societal data. The Summit is facilitated by Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) and hosted by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The vision of Eye on Earth was formed almost ten years ago, the moment when Abu Dhabi Global Environment Data Initiative (AGEDI) was announced, on 2 September 2002, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a Type II Initiative. The need to ensure readily accessible, accurate and relevant data from which to inform sound environmental management, monitoring and performance was emphasised.

Todays challenges have grown beyond those faced in 2002. Water scarcity, food security and climate change are issues of policy that require action and solutions that extend beyond political boundaries. The need for collaboration, information and understanding is greater than ever. Eye on Earth will address this challenge by convening world leaders, the environmental and societal information networking movement and others to:

Convene
to celebrate best-impact data initiatives from around the globe;

Converge
on key issues to reach consensus on solutions to greater data accessibility;

Collaborate
to strengthen existing initiatives and, where necessary, to launch new ones. Attendees will include: Heads of international environmental and development institutions Executives of the worlds major geospatial and data processing corporations Global philanthropists, developmental and environmental activists Ministers of environment and development Executives of statistical and standards bodies Executives of major land-user corporations The foremost academics active in the field

WHY IT MATTERS
Access to environmental knowledge is critical. Wise decision-making depends on an ever-growing pool of oftenunavailable data. It may be absent, inaccessible or simply hidden. Emerging economies are losing valuable environmental assets as a result of inaccurate decision-making caused by the lack of useable quality data. Much of the worlds growing flood of data is inaccessible. Incompatible standards, bureaucratic hurdles, unsuitable operating procedures, lack of open access or mere ignorance of its existence are as much of a problem as missing data per se. These are issues that can only be resolved by a concerted effort of all those involved, from information specialists to policymakers.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
To register your interest, or if you would like to receive regular updates about the Eye on Earth Summit and Exhibition, please visit www.eyeonearthsummit.org Across the world, sharing information has always been crucial to good decision-making. Ensuring that environmental and societal data is accessible to all those who need it whether scientists, communities, governments or thoughtleaders, is essential to moving the world towards a future founded on informed policy-making. This is especially the case in emerging economies and to ensure sustainable development patterns and I am very proud that EAD will be hosting this summit, said H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD. Welcoming the announcement of the Summit, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP said: In the run-up to the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Eye on Earth presents a timely opportunity to identify practical measures to bridge the environmental knowledge gap and deliver the information and data needed to support a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient global Green Economy.

Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative PO Box 45553 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates T : +971 2 445 4777 | F : +971 2 446 3339 | eoecommunity@ead.ae

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AGEDI
ABU DHABI GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL DATA INITIATIVE

Informing a sustainable world.

Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) was launched by the United Arab Emirates Government, under the guidance and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, to address the impact of missing or weak environmental data on emerging economies efforts to achieve sustainable development. Socio-economic and environmental sectors throughout the world, and particular those of emerging economies, are potentially losing valuable assets as a result of inaccurate decision-making caused by the lack of useable quality data. AGEDI was also formed to address the UAEs concerns regarding the approach and criteria used for the results of the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), produced by the World Economic Forum in February 2002, which had ranked the UAE 141 out of 142 countries. It was recognised that the application of non-region specific measures and associated indicators presented skewed results. The need to ensure readily accessible, accurate and relevant data from which to inform sound environmental management, monitoring and performance was emphasised.

Today, AGEDI works with Partners, Members and stakeholders throughout the world to achieve a more sustainable future through best-impact access to environmental and societal data, to meet the challenges that have grown beyond those faced in 2002. Water scarcity, food security and climate change are issues of policy that require action and solutions that extend beyond political boundaries. The need for collaboration, information and understanding is greater than ever. AGEDI provides user-friendly access to high-quality environmental information, through a variety of information products. While Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) champions AGEDI locally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) champions it regionally and globally. AGEDI works closely with international networks to facilitate and enhance information exchange.

AGEDIs objectives
Enhance environmental data collection and assessment Increase data capacities for local, national, regional, and global environmental decision making Ensure sustainable development planning is based on timely, useable, and updated data and information of high quality Boost the accessibility of data and information by all Enhance national and international information processing and exchange mechanisms Enhance national information handling and communications capacities. AGEDIs flagship local product is the Abu Dhabi State of the Environment report, accessible at www.soe.ae. AGEDI collaborates on a number of projects with strategic partners including Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF), UNEP and EAD, working together to achieve the shared aim of ensuring effective access to the world's expanding pool of environmental and societal data by all of those who need it.

Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative PO Box 45553 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates T : +971 2 445 4777 | F : +971 2 446 3339 | eoecommunity@ead.ae

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Abu Dhabi
CAPITAL OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Abu Dhabi is the largest and most populated of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, with over 80% of its landmass and a population of over 1.6 million people (the UAEs is over eight million). In terms of per capita income, Abu Dhabi is one of the wealthiest states in the world, on a par with Luxembourg, Norway or Qatar. Abu Dhabi is ruled by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. To date, 13% of the Abu Dhabis territory has been designated as protected areas. Despite its arid climate, Abu Dhabi hosts between 450 and 500 terrestrial plant species and close to half the worlds Arabian Oryx population. Residents from a wide variety of nationalities are proud to call Abu Dhabi home and believe that our Emirate is a great place to live, work and visit. Abu Dhabi believes that it is the responsibility of all - Government, NGOs, private sector and individual citizens to make sure that this uniqueness is preserved for future generations.

ABU DHABIS NATURAL HERITAGE

Abu Dhabi Emirate, has a rich natural heritage with an exciting mix of geology, habitats and species, both on land and in the sea. The varied geology of mountains (rising above 1200m in the East), sandy desert, wadis and salty flats ('Sabkha') create the conditions for a diverse range of habitats. Abu Dhabi is home to all types of land vertebrates - mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Two to three million birds also pass through the UAE every year on their migration from the heart of Asia southwards to Africa, or eastwards to India or beyond. Abu Dhabis marine habitats are home to the second largest population of dugongs in the world. Abu Dhabis coastal waters are also home to the endangered hawksbill and green turtles, four globally-threatened species of shark, three threatened species of ray and around 240 species of fish. From the rolling red dunes of the Rub' Al Khali ('Empty Quarter', the largest sand desert in the world) to the ruggedness of its mountain outcrops, and from its sandy beaches to the azure blue Gulf, Abu Dhabi is home to a variety of stunning contrasting landscapes teeming with unique fauna and flora.

AMAZING BIODIVERSITY
Abu Dhabi is blessed with amazing biodiversity and natural resources. It has evolved from a traditional economy based on subsistence fisheries, pearling, oasis agriculture and grazing livestock to a fully urbanised country in less than two generations. With the population predicted to more than double between now and 2030, there will be increased demand for land, energy, water, food and other products. Around 65% of Abu Dhabis water comes from groundwater, the remainder being provided by desalination plants and water recycling. But in our arid environment groundwater renews itself slowly, causing the supply to diminish. The per capita consumption of goods and emissions of greenhouse gases in Abu Dhabi is currently amongst the highest in the world. Abu Dhabi will need to look to both policy changes and changes in individual habits to reduce consumption and emissions to acceptable levels.

PROTECTING ABU DHABIS FUTURE

A comprehensive policy, legal and governance framework for environmental sustainability, to be completed by the end of 2011, will be a critical component of the Government's Vision for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for the next twenty years. Made up of: 1. An assessment of the current state of the environment in Abu Dhabi Emirate and the development of future scenarios; 2. The development of a vision statement, policy framework, and action plan that will address priority environmental concerns, and; 3. A detailed analysis of the current institutional setting, including a gap analysis and recommendations for how best to address those gaps. The vision for the environment will complement the Governments Economic and Social Visions. It is intended that this framework, along with the Economic and Social Visions, will provide a shared foundation for environmental decisionmaking across all sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for the next two decades.

Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative PO Box 45553 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates T : +971 2 445 4777 | F : +971 2 446 3339 | eoecommunity@ead.ae