|
International
Regional
National
Local |
|
|
Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid’s
distinguished contributions on the regional scale are of no less
importance than those on the national scale. He led many of the
Arab and African campaigns and played a key role in establishing the
Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in 1999 under the umbrella of which all
Nile Basin countries were united for the first time. Since then,
numerous studies were conducted to initiate joint projects for the
optimum use of the River Nile resources in diverse fields.
In parallel, he
was influential in the negotiations for developing the new Nile
Water Agreement, 95% of which has already been terminated. He
proficiently chaired the series of the Nile 2002 conferences that
assembled professionals and specialists from all Nile Basin
countries to exchange views and experiences.
Dr. M. Abu-Zeid
chaired as well the African Ministerial Council for Water Resources
in the Nile Basin Countries for several years, and represented the
group of North African countries in the Council. He was twice
offered recognition awards by the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) for his distinguished efforts in this field.
Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid
is the principal initiator of numerous fundamental works in the
field of water use and management on the national, regional and
international scales, which had major influence on agricultural and
food production.
On the Arab
Scale
Dr. Abu-Zeid
prepared and led the Founding Committee for establishment of the
Arab Water Council, which is the first assembly of Arab countries
revolving around the issue of water. He headed the Council’s
meetings at the World Water Forum in Mexico in 2006 and has prepared
for the Council’s participation in the World Water Forum held in
Turkey in 2009.
Under the umbrella
of the Arab Water Council, Dr. M. Abu-Zeid is taking the lead in
setting an integrated water resources program for Arab countries
with the aim of optimizing the use of those resources and maximizing
the agricultural benefits obtained from them.
Dr. M. Abu-Zeid
participated in chairing numerous regional conferences on water, and
is participating as Board member in selecting winners for the Prince
Sultan Ben Abdul Aziz International Award on Water, which is the
greatest award in the water sector amounting to 2.5 million S.R. In
this concern, he developed a set of criteria for selection of the
Scientific Innovation Award and the Specialty Award.
Dr. Abu-Zeid has
been requested to participate in developing the water plans for
Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and other Arab water countries.
He also prepared
the draft memorandum concerning Arab Water Security that was
presented to the Arab League Council.
|