OUR HISTORY

Where We Come from

Dr. Moghales began his environmental career by contributing to the development of the Phase II Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the proposed Ras Issa Oil Refinery in Yemen, serving as Environmental and Social Assessment Coordinator alongside HMR Consultants. Drawing on this foundational experience, Dr. Moghales assembled a group of colleagues who had completed their doctoral studies alongside him as PhD holders. Together they established CORAL for Environmental Services (CORAL CES) in 2004 and began providing Environmental Studies and Consultancy services on a pro bono basis to local authorities and companies in Sanaa, Al-Hudaydah, and Taiz, Yemen, covering initial EIA studies, environmental baseline surveys, and social studies for industries including stone crushing plants, wastewater facilities, and solid waste disposal and incineration facilities across Sanaa, Al-Hudaydah, and Taiz.

By 2009, CORAL CES had built a capable local team delivering full-scope environmental impact assessments and environmental studies for international petroleum companies operating in Yemen. In 2011, the team was further strengthened by partnering with some of Yemen's finest environmental scientists, energy engineers, and social specialists, building in-house capability spanning a wide range of environmental and energy disciplines.

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2012: Integration of Energy Services

By 2012, CORAL CES formally expanded its mandate and was redesignated as CORAL for Environmental and Energy Services (CORALCEES), integrating energy advisory alongside its established environmental consultancy practice in Yemen. This reflected the increasing convergence between environmental compliance, energy systems performance, and project economics.

This was a deliberate strategic decision, not a rebranding exercise. The expansion reflected real capability built through years of delivering energy-related technical work alongside environmental assignments: energy efficiency reviews for industrial facilities, fuel switching feasibility studies, renewable energy assessments, solar energy feasibility studies, carbon footprint estimation, and greenhouse gas assessments for oil and gas operations across Yemen.

From 2012 onwards, CORALCEES delivered integrated environmental and energy advisory as a single, unified technical offering to clients across Yemen, applying IFC Performance Standards and the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework across all assignments.

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2018: Expanding into Sustainability, Climate Advisory and Climate Finance

By 2018, CORALCEES had further deepened its capabilities beyond core ESIA and energy advisory to address the growing convergence between environmental practice, sustainability management, and climate finance in the Yemen and broader development context.​

​In the environmental compliance domain, CORALCEES developed expertise in Environmental Management System (EMS) development for major industrial groups operating multiple manufacturing facilities across Yemen, conducting environmental legal compliance reviews on a retained basis, desktop due diligence studies, and liaising with national and local regulatory authorities on behalf of industrial clients. This work encompassed sustainability advisory, Health Safety and Environment (HSE) management system development, and strategic environmental advisory aligned with both Yemeni regulatory requirements and international sustainability standards.

​​In the climate and energy domain, CORALCEES delivered its first climate finance advisory assignment, preparing a GCF-compliant technical report assessing the renewable energy and carbon emission reduction potential from diesel-operated water pumping systems in Al-Hudaydah Governorate. This assignment encompassed climate risk analysis, techno-commercial feasibility assessment for transition to solar power, carbon footprint estimation, greenhouse gas assessment, and preparation of full documentation meeting Green Climate Fund (GCF) requirements, supporting the client's application for international climate finance. Although the broader GCF application process could not be completed at the country level due to institutional constraints arising from Yemen's ongoing conflict, CORALCEES successfully delivered all required technical documentation to international standard.

​These assignments confirmed CORALCEES as a consultancy capable of delivering not only field-based environmental and energy technical studies, but also sustainability advisory, climate risk assessments, climate vulnerability studies, strategic environmental advisory, and climate finance advisory aligned with international frameworks including GCF, GEF, and IKI.

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CORALCEES Today

Today, CORALCEES is a fully integrated environmental and energy consultancy in Yemen combining dedicated local staff, recognized national experts, and an extended network of international professionals engaged on a project basis.

CORALCEES delivers three lines of service across Yemen: Baseline Surveys, Environmental Services including ESIA and EIA, and Renewable and Energy Advisory Services. Cutting across all three service lines, CORALCEES also delivers Environmental Studies and Consultancy, environmental compliance advisory, Environmental Management System (EMS) development, sustainability advisory, climate risk assessments, climate vulnerability studies, strategic environmental advisory, and climate finance advisory including preparation of GCF, GEF, and IKI compliant funding proposals and technical reports.

​Our environmental consultancy in Yemen covers Environmental Studies and Consultancy, ESIA, EIA, environmental baseline surveys, social baseline studies, stakeholder engagement, public consultation, Environmental Management Plans, greenhouse gas assessment, carbon footprint estimation, climate change mitigation studies, climate change adaptation studies, water management studies, solid waste management assessments, and regulatory advisory.

​Our energy consultancy covers renewable energy feasibility, solar energy assessment, solar-powered irrigation feasibility, energy efficiency reviews, carbon emission reduction studies, GHG inventory, oil pipeline feasibility, waste to energy assessment, and fuel switching feasibility.

Our baseline survey services cover environmental surveys, social and socio-economic studies, humanitarian programme surveys, ecological surveys, biodiversity assessment, marine ecology surveys, coastal environment surveys, rangeland and ecosystem baseline studies, and food security baseline surveys across Yemen.

With over twenty years of accumulated experience, CORALCEES is fully equipped to undertake baseline survey and environmental consultancy assignments of any scale, including humanitarian programme baseline surveys, food security studies, agriculture-related assessments, and offshore-related projects covering aquaculture, mariculture, marine ecosystem assessment, fisheries baseline surveys, marine biodiversity assessment, coastal zone management, and blue economy project environmental assessment in Yemen.

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CORALCEES and the International Development Landscape in Yemen

Today, the international development community's growing focus on Yemen's environmental and climate challenges creates significant demand for expert local environmental and energy consultancy with proven field experience and international standards compliance.

The World Bank is currently implementing a multi-phase Water and Climate Resilience programme in Yemen, alongside urban resilience, solid waste management, and solar energy access projects. The Yemen Improved Water Management and Irrigation for Sustainability and Efficiency Project (IWISE), a USD 150 million IDA grant, aims to strengthen climate and water information management, improve irrigation services delivery, and enhance access to climate resilient water supply and sanitation services across Yemen.

UNDP Yemen is actively implementing the National Adaptation Plan (2025 to 2029) and GEF-funded climate resilience projects covering ecosystem restoration, rangeland rehabilitation, reforestation, solar-powered irrigation, water security, and disaster risk reduction across Yemen's governorates. Yemen is simultaneously advancing its National Implementation Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (2026 to 2030), aligned with the Sendai Framework, led by the Ministry of Water and Environment with UNDP and UNDRR support.

IFC, having committed to Paris Agreement alignment across all investments from July 2025, requires full ESG compliance and IFC Performance Standards adherence from all private sector clients it supports in Yemen. The IFC Alafaq Aljadida blended finance facility specifically targets Yemen for investments in renewable energy, climate, water, agribusiness, and SME finance.

​CORALCEES is positioned to serve as the local environmental and energy technical partner of choice for these programmes, delivering Environmental Studies and Consultancy, climate risk assessments, climate vulnerability assessments, National Adaptation Plan support, ecosystem restoration baselines, water management studies, solid waste management assessments, solar energy feasibility, GHG assessments, disaster risk reduction studies, and ESG compliance advisory to international donors, UN implementing agencies, and private sector clients operating in Yemen.

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For over 20 years, CORALCEES has delivered environmental and energy consultancy projects for both local and international clients in Yemen to the standards of the World Bank, IFC, United Nations, and donor-funded development programmes.

For more details on our services and completed projects please visit our Services and Projects pages or contact us at info@coralcees.com.