Munqeth Mehyar

rdf:langString Munqeth Mehyar

rdf:langString Munqeth Mehyar (Arabic: منقذ مهيار) (born January 16, 1957) serves as Chairman and Jordanian Director of EcoPeace Middle East (formerly Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME)). EcoPeace Middle East is a unique regional organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to promote sustainable development and advance peace efforts in the Middle East. The organization has offices in Amman, Bethlehem and Tel Aviv, employs over 40 paid staff and actively involves hundreds of volunteers. As Jordanian Director, Mehyar leads EcoPeace activities concerning the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and the Good Water Neighbors Project. As Chairman, his responsibilities include supervising international project development and management, serving as a liaison to and lobbying of governmental and private sector figures and organizations on major regional policy issues relevant to environmental protection, as well as developing international contacts and functional partnerships with international environmental and development institutions. Mehyar has organized dozens of regional conferences, workshops and study tours, supervised regional research on shared ecosystems, co-authored reports and policy papers and speaks regularly on water, peace and security issues, with the main emphasis directed towards the end of Israeli occupation and the creation of an independent "Palestinian State" with East Jerusalem as its capital. Mehyar received a degree in Regional Planning and Architecture from the University of Louisiana, USA in 1981, upon which he became the planning engineer for South Amman. In addition to his role as the Jordanian EcoPeace Middle East director, he serves as Vice President of the Jordan Society for Sustainable Development. He is also on the Board of Directors of both the Jordan Sports Federation for the Handicapped and the Jordan Royal Ecological Diving Society. Mehyar is married with 4 children, and resides in Amman, Jordan.