September 2010: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) has released a report that compares regional cooperation opportunities and trends at the subnational, national, subregional and regional, providing policymakers and planners with information to stimulate regional cooperation and to support Arab countries in their efforts to achieve the MDGs. The report notes that deforestation is one of the principal contributors to desertification, a major problem in the Arab region. It also notes that in the LDCs and the Maghreb, demand for food and energy has increased to the point of seriously reducing forest coverage, such as wood to provide fuel. [The report]