What do we do?

• - Continuously strive for excellence and improvement through constant learning and adaptation.
• - Facilitate and promote interdisciplinarity that aims to address societal and environmental problems related to sustainable development.
• - Play an active role in improving environmental conditions at the local, national, regional and global levels.
• - Reinforce and mold rational and better governance of natural resources by generating the evidence needed to improve key policies, and institutional and legal frameworks.
• - Focus the attention of the UOB and the community at large on environmental issues through applied academic research, activism, service and the raising of awareness.
• - Encourage ecosystem preservation by promoting sustainable use of marine, coastal and terrestrial resources.
• - Provide expert services for government institutions and other bodies within its field of expertise.
• - Maintain and develop information systems within its area of specialization and participate in international cooperation initiatives relevant to its function.
• - Communicate outputs to increase scientific transparency and to underline the inevitability of including sustainability pillars into daily decisions at both individual and institutional levels.

How?

Adopting “science as the basis for decision making”, the Institute has made a great impact on filling essential gaps in the science required for introducing sustainable ecosystem management approaches at local, national and regional levels. Constant effort is invested on integrating the activities of its main three programs in a holistic approach that includes economy, society, and the natural environment:

1. The Marine and Coastal Resources (MCR) Program that focuses on understanding and managing issues concerned with the coastal zone and its associated resources.
2. The Land and Natural Resources (LNR) Program that focuses on understanding and managing various topics in the terrestrial natural environment.
3. The Environmental and Energy Economics (EEE) Program that focuses on valuating natural assets and studying the interaction between economics and the natural environment.

With whom?

The IOE collaborates with all Faculties at the University, while IOE Faculty members teach courses according to their fields of expertise in addition to submitting and managing externally funded projects supported by a team of highly dedicated individuals. The IOE has strong links and partnerships with laboratories and departments at the University, allowing horizontal as well as vertical integration and implementation of a wide range of multidisciplinary projects. The IOE also provides opportunities for students at UOB and beyond to carry-out research, graduate theses, gain professional experience and become involved in community service and development.

For whom?

The IOE connects academic understanding with community work in various settings, therefore responding to the needs of community development, capacity building and institutional strengthening, economic and social prosperity, and the preservation of a healthy natural environment.

Fostering partnerships with networks and organizations at the local, regional, and international levels, the Institute enables local and regional communities to have more control over the management of their natural environment thus leading to the alleviation of problems, addressing developmental concerns and sustaining natural resources for future generations.