Mr Mohammad Shahbaz is the Director General of the Royal Botanic Garden in Amman. He holds extensive knowledge and experience in the field of nature and wildlife conservation in the NENA region. He was chair of the IUCN Regional Committee, contributing to many regional initiatives and including the Asia Regional Conservation Forum and an elected Councillor of the IUCN from 2009-2012 and 2013-2016. Before this, he served as a member of the National Selection Committee for the Global Environmental Facility/World Bank. He has a research Master’s in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University, Belfast.