About AGEDI

Informing a sustainable world

The lack of quality, quantifiable environmental data has proven a major hindrance to the global process of achieving sustainable development. The result is that throughout the world socio-economic and environmental decision makers are being challenged to make vital decisions without the necessary data.

Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) was launched by the United Arab Emirates Government, under the guidance and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg as a Type II Initiative, to address the impact of missing or weak environmental data on emerging economies’ efforts to achieve sustainable development.

AGEDI Partners

While Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) champions AGEDI locally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) champions it regionally and globally. AGEDI works closely with international networks to facilitate and enhance information exchange.

AGEDI works with Partners, Members and stakeholders throughout the world. Our focus is on the support of developing countries and emerging economies. AGEDI’s partners include the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Ministry of Environment and Water of the UAE and the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF)

What does AGEDI do?

AGEDI was also formed to address the UAE’s concerns regarding the approach and criteria used for the results of the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), produced by the World Economic Forum in February, which had ranked the UAE 141 out of 142 countries. It was recognised that the application of non-region specific measures and associated indicators presented skewed results. The need to ensure readily accessible, accurate and relevant data from which to inform sound environmental management, monitoring and performance was emphasised.

Today, AGEDI works with all of its Partners, Members and stakeholders to achieve a more sustainable future through ‘best-impact’ access to environmental and societal data, to meet the challenges that have grown beyond those faced in.

Water scarcity, food security and climate change are issues of policy that require action and solutions that extend beyond political boundaries. The need for collaboration, information and understanding is greater than ever.

AGEDI provides user-friendly access to high-quality environmental information, through a variety of information products. AGEDI’s flagship local product is the Abu Dhabi State of the Environment report, accessible at.

AGEDI informs a sustainable world by

  1. Monitoring and enabling environmental and societal data collection and assessment across world-wide networking movements.
  2. Ensuring capability and capacity building to support ‘best impact’ and application of data and information for local, national, regional, and global environmental decision making.
  3. Identifying needs and working with theme experts to ensure sustainable development planning is based on timely, useable, and updated data and information of high quality.
  4. Defining and delivering projects that address specific data access, acquisition and dissemination to boost the accessibility of data and information by all.
  5. Enabling and facilitating national and international information processing and exchange mechanisms.

For more information visit AGEDI on