International guest lecturer at UNU-LRT
Dr Maryam Niamir-Fuller, an expert on international sustainable development, was the main international guest lecturer at the UNU-LRT six-month training programme this year. Dr Niamir-Fuller gave three interactive lectures on rangelands, livestock and land restoration. She focused on how to move towards sustainability in the extensive and intensive livestock sectors, proposing a conceptual framework model to transform the sectors.
Dr Niamir-Fuller was also the keynote speaker at an open meeting hosted by UNU-LRT at the National Museum of Iceland on 17 August. Her talk was entitled: Breaking silos: The design and implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, where she focused on how different sectors can cooperate on achieving an integrated implementation of the SDG´s. The UNU-LRT Director, Dr Hafdis Hanna Aegisdottir, gave opening remarks at the meeting and Mr Throestur Freyr Gylfason, the president of the UN Association in Iceland chaired the meeting.
Dr Niamir-Fuller holds a PhD in Rangeland Management and has an extensive experience in the field of sustainable development. She directed the sustainable land management program of UNDP in the 2000s, as well as designing and implementing projects in many developing countries. Subsequently she directed the Global Environment Facility Unit of UNEP, where she oversaw and managed development projects in all environmental fields. Furthermore, she coordinated and lead the UNEP´s engagement in the design of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the UN. She is currently an independent consultant.