Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. On Earth, it includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land, all minerals along with all vegetation, and animal life.
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia. As a regional identifier, MENA is often used in academia, military planning, disaster relief, media planning, and business writing. Moreover, the region shares a number of cultural, economic, and environmental similarities across its comprising countries; for example, some of the most extreme impacts of climate change will be felt in MENA.
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. It seeks to address the key governance issues in the extractive sectors.
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washington, D.C. Global Witness states that it does not have any political affiliation. Gillian Caldwell joined the organisation as executive director in July 2015 and Mark Stephens was appointed Chair in March 2016. In February 2020, Mike Davis became CEO of Global Witness.
The roles of women in the Arab world have changed throughout history, as the culture and society in which they live has undergone significant transformations. Historically, as well as presently, the situation of women differs greatly between Arabic speaking regions, their urban or rural population and age groups. Among other factors, these differences can be attributed to local traditions, culture and religion, women's social or legal status, their level of education, health or self-awareness. Since the 19th century, and notably through the influence of the colonization in North Africa, the Arab Renaissance in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, and the end of the Ottoman Empire, the social and economic changes in the Arab world have become greatly accelerated and diversified.
Kazakhstan owns large reserves of energy resources, and therefore the energy policy of Kazakhstan has influence over the world's overall energy supply. Although Kazakhstan has not described itself as an energy superpower, Kazakhstan's former president Nursultan Nazarbayev claimed Kazakhstan will become a factor of energy security in Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan has a strategic geographical location to control oil and gas flows from Central Asia to East (China) and West.
Daniel Kaufmann is the president emeritus of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), which resulted from the merger of the Revenue Watch Institute – Natural Resource Charter. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he was previously a senior fellow, and until July 2019 served in the international board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and in a number of advisory boards on governance, anti-corruption and natural resources and has also been in high-level expert commissions such as at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Prior to that, he was a director at the World Bank Institute, leading work on governance and anti-corruption. He was also a senior manager and lead economist at the World Bank, writing and working on many countries around the world, and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University. He has also served in other boards and councils in the past, including at the World Economic Forum.
Antoine Haddad is an academic, consultant, and social and political activist.
Energy in the Middle East describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in the Middle East. Energy policy of the Middle East will describe the politics of the Middle East related to energy more in detail.
General elections were held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. Although originally scheduled for 2013, the election was postponed three times in 2013, 2014 and 2017 under various pretexts, including the security situation, the failure of the Parliament to elect a new President, and the technical requirements of holding an election. A new electoral law adopted in 2017 provides a proportional representation system for the first time.
The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption is an International nongovernmental organization made up of parliamentarians from across the world, working together to combat corruption, strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, GOPAC has sixty-four national chapters in five continental associations. GOPAC supports its members through original research, global anti‑corruption capacity building, and international peer support.
Olga Bielkova is a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament from 2012 until June 2020.
Dr. Dalaly Peter Kafumu is a Tanzanian CCM politician and Member of Parliament for Igunga constituency since 2011.
Nadine Moussa is a Lebanese lawyer and political activist who ran for the 2014 Lebanese general election. She also ran as an independent candidate for the 2014 Lebanese presidential election. She was the first woman to run for presidency in Lebanon. The presidential election was postponed to 2016. The general election was postponed to 2017 and again until 2018. She did not win either contest.
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) is a not-for-profit regional non-governmental organization, membership-based organization headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, with the status of international organization; grouping experts together with the civil society, business community and media, to promote prudent environmental policies and programmes across the Arab region.
Fiscal transparency refers to the publication of information on how governments raise, spend, and manage public resources. More specifically, it means publication of high quality information on how governments raise taxes, borrow, spend, invest, and manage public assets and liabilities.
Zahra' Langhi is a peace activist and expert on gender, conflict resolution, and peace building. She is specialized in prevention & countering violent extremism, women peace & security, and mediation & national dialogues. Her research intersects gender equality with Islamic history, metaphysics, mysticism and female spirituality in comparative religions.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving countries' governance over their natural resources to promote sustainable and inclusive development. The headquarters of NRGI are based in New York.
Lamia Moubayed Bissat is a Lebanese public servant. She has been serving as President of the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan since 2000. In 2018, the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration selected Lamia Moubayed Bissat among the 24 experts to guide members of CEPA on the agenda of 2030.
Sustainable Development Goals and Lebanon explains major contributions launched in Lebanon towards the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs and the 2030 agenda. Multi-stakeholder forums were held by different UN agencies including the UN Global Compact Network in Lebanon during the late 2010s for the advancement of Global Goals and their Impact on Businesses in Lebanon. The latest two were held on October 18, 2018 and October 2019 under the title of connecting the global goals to Local Businesses.
