Director
| Daou, Alain, PhD | Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship (OSB)
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Executive Committee Members
| Daou, Alain, PhD | Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship Business (OSB) |
| Darwiche, Nadine, PhD | Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (FM) |
| Romani, Maya, MD | Assistant Professor, Family Medicine (FM) |
| Saad, Walid, PhD | Associate Professor, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering (MSFEA) |
| Sammouri, Wissam, PhD | Assistant Professor of Practice, Business Analytics (OSB) |
| Talhouk, Salma, PhD | Professor, Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management Department (FAFS)
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AUB Faculty with Membership in the AUB-Nature Conservation Center
| Abunnasr, Yaser, PhD | Associate Professor - Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management (FAFS) |
| Aoun Saliba, Najat, PhD | Professor, Chemistry (FAS) |
| Atwood, Blake, PhD | Associate Professor - Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies (FAS) |
| Azad, Bijan, PhD | Professor, Business Information and Decision Systems(OSB) |
| Carney, Josh, PhD | Assistant Professor - Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies (FAS) |
| Choueiri, Lina, PhD | Associate Provost and Professor, English Language (FAS) |
| Daou, Alain, PhD | Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship (OSB) |
| Darwiche, Nadine, PhD | Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (FM) |
| Fabian, Monika | Instructor & Greenhouse Supervisor, Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management (FAFS) |
| Habib, Rima, PhD | Chairperson and Professor, Environmental Health (FHS) |
| Homaidan, Fadia, PhD | Director of Grants and Contracts, Associate Professor, Physiology (FM) |
| Sinno, Nadine | Lecturer (OSB) |
| Sammouri, Wissam, PhD | Assistant Professor of Practice, Business Analytics (OSB) |
| Orfali, Bilal, PhD | Chairman, Professor, and Sheikh Zayed Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies (FAS) |
| Romani, Maya, MD | Assistant Professor, Family Medicine (FM) |
| Dreksler, Beata, PhD | Assistant Professor, Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management (FAFS) |
| Talhouk, Salma, PhD | Professor, Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management Department (FAFS) |
| Tannir, Lina | Lecturer, Finance (OSB) |
| Ward, Abir | Instructor, English (FAS)
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Introduction
The AUB Nature Conservation Center (AUB-NCC) is the leading transdisciplinary academic center addressing nature conservation in the MENA region, which promotes the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and encourages individuals to relate to nature through research, education, community development, and knowledge dissemination. Ultimately, AUB-NCC aims to make people and communities the guardians and beneficiaries of nature.
AUB-NCC is a firm believer in citizen science and the role it can play in addressing issues related to air and water pollution, deforestation threats, and climate change challenges. Being one of the first organizations to adopt a public participatory approach to its projects, the Center takes full advantage of the collaborative framework put in place, which invites the general public into the fold, utilizing better data collection and analysis processes for the good of the cause at hand. This approach allows the Center to understand the needs of the communities and offers up a platform to engage the public and allow them to contribute to the research, study, and science of the subject at hand.
AUB-NCC’s interest in promoting eco-innovation, entrepreneurship, and education is woven into all of its programs. It understands the importance of organizing environmental science programs in several fields and disciplines that raise awareness amongst communities of the environmental challenges we face today.
In addition, AUB-NCC’s medicinal program ventures into the validation of folk practices, which involve the country’s nature plants, flowers, and trees. Plant use is a primary concern in this field as Lebanon’s natural wealth is second to none; therefore, a thought given to sustainability in that regard would prove significant in the context of natural medicines and remedies.
AUB-NCC’s priority areas are environmental stewardship, community development and biodiversity conservation, with a focus on climate change mitigation.
Membership
Since its establishment in 2001, AUB-NCC has mobilized people and institutions throughout Lebanon to support nature conservation, improved the environment, and inspired countless individuals to appreciate and embrace sustainability. The Center leverages the expertise and experience of AUB’s faculties from different fields and involved around 92 faculty members to tackle the region’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Throughout its tenure, AUB-NCC has recruited interns, worked with local and international businesses, engaged and impacted Lebanese citizens, engaged students, enrolled volunteers, operated with municipalities, worked alongside NGOs, collaborated with universities, and cooperated with government authorities. All the actors at stake illustrate the Center’s multidisciplinarity, as they aid the Center in achieving its mission.