23 July 2015
FAO Expands Collaboration on SFM with Iran
story highlights

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has put forest-related issues in the Near East and North Africa region in focus with the organization of an expert meeting on the development of sustainability indicators for forests, rangelands and forest-like ecosystems in the region, and with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sustainable forest management (SFM) with Iran.

fao-iran14 June 2015: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has put forest-related issues in the Near East and North Africa region in focus with the organization of an expert meeting on the development of sustainability indicators for forests, rangelands and forest-like ecosystems in the region, and with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sustainable forest management (SFM) with Iran.

The expert meeting took place from 7-9 June 2015, in Cairo, Egypt. It was organized by FAO through its Forestry Department and the Regional Office for the Near East, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Regional Office for West Asia and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) of the CGIAR Consortium. The overall goal was to propose and elaborate a set of sustainability indicators for forests, rangelands and forest-like ecosystems for the North Africa and Near East region consistent with current concerns over sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality, and in line with proposed Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss). The workshop proposed a draft set of sustainability indicators adapted to the region, as well as a roadmap and recommendations for next steps.

In related news, FAO and Iran have recently expanded their collaboration on SFM following the signing of a MoU in early April that addresses oak decline in the Zagrus region and Boxwood blight in the Caspian region. The agreement also outlines the scale and scope of future activities. [FAO Meeting Webpage] [IUCN Press Release] [Meeting Presentations] [FAO InFO news, including information on the FAO-Iran MoU]

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