The first extraordinary session of IHP UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Council held on November 28, 2019 in Paris, witnessed the election of Dr. Fadi Georges Comair as President of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Program (IHP).
The Board Members chose the General Director of Hydraulic and Electric Resources Dr. Fadi Georges Comair representing Lebanon to succeed to H.E. Thiernot Hamet Baba Ly who represented Senegal.
Some of the personalities who attended and participated during in this session:
- Mr. Thierno Hamet Baba Ly, outgoing IHP President,
- Mr. Youssef Filali-Meknassi, Division of Water Sciences Director & Secretary of the IHP,
- H.E. Mrs. Sahar Baassiri, Ambassador of Lebanon to UNESCO.
Dr. Comair chaired the session, the agenda included the “IHP Strategy for the period of 2020-2029” tackling main issues such as water safety, hydrodiplomacy, pollution, and climate change…
Fadi Comair ran also the election of five vice-presidents for the five sub-regions and the council’s rapporteur of the 24th Intergovernmental Council.
The election of Dr. Comair as IHP UNESCO President puts Lebanon once again on the international scene for issues related to the sustainable development and human well-being.
IHP Program is the only UN intergovernmental program dedicated to water research & resource management, education and capacity building. Also adapted to the needs of the Country Members, it is implemented through several phases and evolves according to the needs of a changing world. Founded in 1975 and implemented in programmatic sequences or six-year phases, IHP UNESCO starts its eighth phase (PHI-VIII) during the period 2014-2021.
Lebanon, the Land of Cedars, is henceforth represented in the most important hydrological organization in the world and is an integral part of the preparation of World Water Strategy of UNESCO among many other responsibilities.
Having already led the Lebanese Water Strategy and the Mediterranean strategy within the Union for the Mediterranean, Dr. Comair will be now managing the World Water Program at UNESCO.