About Us

We bring extensive experience navigating the environmental and social standards of international organizations, ensuring every project meets rigorous compliance requirements.

Development projects across our region are subject to growing environmental and social requirements, set through stringent standards by national regulators, international financing institutions, and private sector operators. Meeting these evolving demands requires rigorous assessments, structured engagement, and management systems grounded in reliable data. This is the work Ecocentra was conceived to deliver.

Delivering against these requirements makes our core strength. We are a regional environmental and social consultancy; a research practice delivering studies, impact assessments, due diligence, stakeholder engagement, resettlement planning, and management support. Our work serves national regulators and international financing institutions, as well as private sector clients. 

Our team is fully versed in the standards governing each assignment and grounded in the realities present within our clients' unique operating environments.

That alignment is reflected in our portfolio. We have delivered assignments funded by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, Agence Française de Développement, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and KfW. These projects require strict compliance with international environmental and social frameworks. They also require consultants who can deliver against those frameworks in the field of operations.

Our work spans the full project cycle. We begin with baseline studies and environmental and social impact assessments, and carry through to monitoring, supervision, and capacity building. This gives our clients a consistent line of sight, from early risk identification through to mitigation and long-term performance management.

Ecocentra now offers even deeper engagements with clients. This is due to our long-established strategic alliance with Engicon, a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy delivering planning, design, and construction supervision across the MENA region.

More recently, our alliance has been formalized through a strategic investment by Engicon in Ecocentra, positioning us within a broader platform with strong technical depth and regional delivery reach. 

For our clients, this means environmental and social requirements can be integrated directly with engineering, infrastructure planning, and implementation. The result is a single point of accountability for projects where environmental and social performance is integrated into technical delivery.

The Team

Ecocentra is supported by a dedicated team of full-time professionals who contribute to every project we undertake, complemented by a network of specialized consultants with whom we collaborate regularly.

Lama Bashour
Director

Ms. Bashour is an Environment and Social Consultant with 25 years of experience in development and environmental consultancy. Her work focuses on leading environmental and social assessment teams for a diverse array of infrastructure projects, reviewing Environmental and Social Impact assessment (ESIA) reports and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) and has prepared Environmental and Social Management Frameworks, Stakeholder Engagement Plans and Frameworks, Resettlement Action Plans and Frameworks, Labour Management Procedures and Grievance Redress Mechanisms for various types of projects and programs. All the assessments undertaken required abiding by international and local standards including those set by the World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC), EBRD, EIB, AFD, UNDP and KfW. Ms. Bashour has worked on many studies in the region including in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and has supported UNDP Country Offices internationally including in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Ms. Bashour’s educational background includes a Diploma for Graduates in Economics from the University of London/London School of Economics, Master’s Degree in Environmental Law & Conservation from the University of Kent in the UK and a Bachelor of Science in Public & Environmental Health from the American University of Beirut.

Sania El Nakib 
Environment Lead and Project Manager

Ms. El Nakib has over 10 years of experience delivering environmental and social consulting projects across the Middle East, including Lebanon, KSA, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, and Jordan. Her role includes managing large-scale projects while providing technical leadership to multidisciplinary environmental teams. She has extensive expertise in ESIAs, ESDD, Environmental Management Planning, Environmental Monitoring, and Project Management for large-scale infrastructure, water, wastewater, industrial, tourism, and oil and gas developments. Throughout her career, she has successfully led and managed projects funded by international organizations including the World Bank, EBRD, EIB, USAID, UNDP, KfW, JICA, and UKEF. Ms. El Nakib holds a Master of Science in Environmental Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from American University of Beirut.

Joanna Zaghrini
Environmental and Social Consultant

Ms. Zaghrini has 7 years of experience in environmental and social consulting. Throughout her work at Ecocentra, she has been involved in conducting ESIAs, IEEs, and Environmental Audits for various projects including reforestation, water and wastewater, roads and industrial projects. She was also involved in preparing the State of the Environment Report for Lebanon 2020, in which she participated in preparing the Environmental Governance and Chemical Management chapters. Ms. Zaghrini’s educational background includes a Master of Science in Biodiversity: Management and Conservation of Natural Resources from the Lebanese University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology.

Asma’ Mohammad Odeh
Environmental and Social Consultant

Ms. Odeh is an Environmental and Social Consultant with over six years of professional experience in project coordination, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and environmental and social consulting. She specializes in environmental and social assessments, baseline assessments, stakeholder consultations, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Environmental and Climate Assessments (ECAs), and technical reporting. Ms. Odeh has contributed to nationally and internationally funded assignments through her work with Engicon, GIZ – German Development Cooperation, and Luminus Technical University College (LTUC), supporting infrastructure and development projects and programmes. Her experience covers environmental and social assessment, stakeholder engagement, field research, data collection and analysis, and the preparation of technical reports. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Jordan and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®).

Moussa Khayyat
Environmental Researcher

Mr. Khayyat has three years of experience in environmental and social research and consulting. He has participated in several environmental and social assessment and due diligence studies for various types of infrastructure projects including water, wastewater, highways and building projects, as well as research studies undertaken by the company on various topics including climate change and natural resources. Mr. Khayyat has a Master of Science in Environmental Science (Environmental Health) from the American University of Beirut and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Notre Dame University.

Diar Almatarneh
Environmental Engineer

Mr. Almatarneh is a Junior Environmental Engineer with two years of professional experience in the preparation of ESIAs, Environmental and Social Assessments, Environmental and Social Management Frameworks, Stakeholder Engagement Plans, Land Acquisition Plans, and Constraints Mapping studies for infrastructure and development projects. He has experience working in accordance with national legislation and international requirements, including those of the World Bank, EIB, KfW, and EBRD. He has supported the delivery of donor-funded projects through environmental and social baseline assessments, impact assessments, stakeholder engagement, and environmental and social management frameworks. Mr. Almatarneh holds a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering – Water and Environment from Mutah University.