Hon. Thoriq Ibrahim

Serving as the Minister of Environment and Energy (2013-2018), Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim was at the helm of environmental resource management, climate change advocacy and waste management in the Maldives. He oversaw nationwide clean energy initiatives, as well as safe sewerage and waste management programmes. In that capacity, he also provided policy guidance to the Environment Protection Agency, Maldives Energy Authority, Maldives Meteorology Service and Biosphere Reserve Office. Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim also coordinated the UN SDGs’ roll out in the country.

A passionate advocate on climate change and the security of small island states, he chaired the 44-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), during a four-year phase of key UN negotiations on climate change and sustainable development. He was also an ardent campaigner of the 3R initiative in the country, and mainstreamed the awareness campaign on plastic pollution and its detrimental effect on the Maldives.

In 2015, he published the Maldives’ Waste Management Policy, and overhauled the waste management company in the capital, Male’, to transform it into a forward-looking establishment that remarkably changed waste management protocols. He established natural parks on three of the largest protected mangrove ecosystems in the country, added five new areas of the list of ecologically significant sites, declared both turtles and rays among protected species in Maldives, and compiled the submission of documentation to establish the country as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim was educated at the Loughborough University of UK and the National University of Singapore, where he attained his BA in Building Sciences Engineers and MA in Building Sciences, respectively. He completed an MBA at Preston University, in the United States. He is a premier building services, engineering design and contract management expert in the country, with a portfolio that includes numerous prominent buildings and resort hotels. Mr. Thoriq brings a wealth of experience in public administration and private sector collaboration.

As the Founder of MOPA, he hopes to tap into his vast experience, extensive contacts and valuable knowledge and field experience in building strong networks across the country in addressing the growing problem of plastic waste pollution in the Maldives.