Dr Nabegh Ghazal Asswad has a PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Nottingham, UK. He has been working as a Programmes Manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (a member of the High Seas Alliance) for the Middle East and North Africa office since October 2021 where he is currently managing a project to combat the illegal trade of Big Cats between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and helping to coordinate High Seas issues within the region.
Dr Ghazal is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN Expert Assessment Group for Green List (EAGL) in the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula Plant Specialists Group and member of the IUCN Regional Conservation Forum for the Middle East. He has been vice president of Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) since 2013 and has assisted in editing and revising the Arabic version of the Field Guide for Birds of the Middle East. Dr Ghazal has been working in conservation since 2012 and was a senior lecturer at the University of Aleppo from 2010-2015.