Nihel CHABRAK

Prof. Dr. Nihel Chabrak is CEO and founder of VisionNest, a strategic advisory firm championing a "Regenerative Anthropocene for All Forms of Life." With over 25 years of transformative leadership across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, she pioneers innovative approaches that align private sector action with community rights and biodiversity conservation. Through VisionNest, Dr. Chabrak specializes in developing comprehensive sustainability frameworks that integrate carbon markets, nature-based solutions, and community empowerment. She led AirImpact's Great Green Action initiative at COP28, creating groundbreaking frameworks for nature-based carbon projects that ensure forest frontline communities benefit from conservation efforts. Her current research on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the modern 'enclosure movement' in carbon markets critically examines how carbon markets can either empower or marginalize local communities—essential for ensuring biodiversity finance protects traditional stewards. Dr. Chabrak's pioneering academic work presents an emancipatory accounting model that revolutionizes corporate valuation by incorporating financial, human, and natural capitals into balance sheets. This transformative framework challenges conventional profit-centered models, advocating for governance systems that recognize the interconnectedness of economic, social, and ecological value creation.  As former CEO of UAEU Science and Innovation Park, she operationalized inclusive innovation—guiding 40+ startups with 70% female founders. As Chairperson of GEM UAE, her influential reports on social entrepreneurship shaped national policy toward alternative economic models and a vibrant third sector. Having served on the Tunisian delegation at COP28 and COP29, Dr. Chabrak has extensive experience in climate negotiations and multi-stakeholder engagement. Her work spans sustainable finance coordination, including the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Finance, and capacity-building for diverse stakeholders from government delegations to youth climate leaders. This combination of practical experience in carbon markets, innovative accounting frameworks that value natural and human capitals, and deep understanding of community-centered conservation approaches informs her perspective on how private sector innovation can align with both the Global Biodiversity Framework and Indigenous and local communities' rights—recognizing that true conservation success requires integrating ecological integrity with community well-being and economic justice.