Yasmine Fouad

Ms. Yasmine Fouad is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). She succeeds Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw (Mauritania), Ms. Monique Barbut (France), Mr. Luc Gnacadja (Benin) and the late Mr. Hama Arba Diallo (Burkina Faso). A distinguished leader in environmental diplomacy, she brings over 25 years of experience in environmental governance, sustainability and climate negotiations.  

Renowned for shaping ambitious policies and driving transformative reforms, Ms. Fouad played a decisive role in linking sustainable development with the most pressing global challenges of land degradation, climate change, biodiversity loss and water security.  

On the global stage, she has played pivotal roles in advancing multilateral processes. As President of the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 14), she steered negotiations that paved the way towards the Global Biodiversity Framework 2030. As UNFCCC COP 27 Envoy, she mobilized international action on adaptation, food security and nature-based solutions, while promoting stronger synergies among the Rio Conventions. Her leadership was instrumental in launching the Presidential Global Initiative at CBD COP14, uniting land, climate and biodiversity agendas, and further advanced synergetic approaches at UNFCCC COP 27 and COP 28.  

A national of Egypt, Ms. Fouad served as the country’s Minister of Environment from 2018 to 2025, driving major national reforms in climate and environment policy. She championed the adoption of Egypt’s Climate Change Strategy 2050, updated Nationally Determined Contributions, introduced the country’s first Integrated Waste Management Law and pioneering reforms for protected areas and renewable energy. She successfully secured a landmark commitment that all government projects become green by 2030. embedding sustainability into Egypt’s national investment planning.  

Regionally, as Assistant Minister of Environment, she strengthened Africa’s climate and environment agenda, supporting the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) and AMCEN, and contributed to the launch of the African Adaptation and Renewable Energy Initiatives at UNFCCC COP 21. 

In academia and global policy, Ms. Fouad has served as a visiting scholar at Columbia University and as a lead author of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, and Food Security. She holds a Ph.D. in Euro-Mediterranean Studies from Cairo University and an M.Sc. in Environmental Science from Ain Shams University. 

Fluent in English and Arabic, she has been widely recognized for her impact, including the First-Class Order of Zayed II and recognition by Forbes Middle East as one of the region’s leading sustainability figures.  

At the helm of UNCCD, Ms. Fouad leverages her vision and experience to champion land restoration, drought resilience, and ecosystem recovery with clear linkages with climate change and biodiversity: а land Convention offering a sustainable future for the people and the planet.