Engineer Mariam Mohammed Saeed Hareb appointed Assistant Undersecretary at Ministry of Environment & Water

UAE, October 24, 2015 - The UAE Cabinet has issued a decree appointing H.E. Eng. Mariam Mohammed Saeed Hareb as the Assistant Undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water’s ‘Water Resources and Nature Conservation Affairs Department.’ She was previously the Acting Assistant Undersecretary in the same department.

H.E. Eng. Hareb, a UAE National, began her career soon after graduating from one of Europe’s leading engineering universities, with specialization in ‘Development and Design Engineering.’ She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University (RWTH) in Aachen, Germany. She has gained prominence in the field of Environmental Engineering through her professional experience of over 10 years working with well-known organizations in the UAE and Germany.

The newly appointed Assistant Undersecretary started her professional journey with the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, where she was appointed as an Expert to supervise its largest projects. She was involved in the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Centre for Marine Research in Umm Al Quwain, an initiative by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi; the UAE-wide Integrated Waste Management Project to convert waste into energy; and the construction of the Ministry’s new building. She also oversaw the establishment and development of the Project Management Office within the Ministry’s premises as well as the construction of the Central Laboratories in Sharjah.

In addition to the supervision of these projects, H.E. Eng. Hareb has paid great attention to the issue of groundwater depletion in the UAE, recognizing the urgent need to find innovative and sustainable environmental solutions to boost fresh water supply. The young engineer, who was following up on the technology to ‘draw water from humid air,’ is currently working its technical development in accordance with the country’s climate. It is one of the Ministry’s highly innovative projects in line with government directives to stimulate innovation and creativity to achieve the objectives of National Vision 2021.

In 2014, H.E. Eng. Hareb was appointed to the position of Director of Education & Awareness Department, where she helped in developing the national strategy on environmental education and awareness. Implemented in 2015, the policy will continue until 2021 with an aim to raise the level of environmental awareness among the various stakeholders in key environmental areas, such as waste management, quality air and water, climate change, and biodiversity. The strategy will ultimately help change the behavior of the people of the UAE to ensure a sustainable environment.

Following a period of significant achievements in various administrative and environmental fields, H.E. Eng. Hareb has been made the Assistant Undersecretary for the Water Resources and Nature Conservation Affairs Department. In her new role, she is working towards the development and formulation of general strategic plans for the Ministry in line with the UAE National Agenda and the directives of the government. 

In addition, she oversees the development of performance indicators for the Department for the purpose of evaluation in line with the Ministry’s strategic vision to promote environmental sustainability and protect natural resources. This resulted in the Water Resources and Nature Conservation Affairs Department being named as the most innovative in the third quarter of 2015 within the Ministry of Environment and Water.