This Policy Note discusses the status of Forestry in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNA) of the Bank. The Policy Note is a product of the FAO Investment Center in Rome, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Bank. Experience in natural resource management shows that to adequately address sustainable development, solutions must go beyond any single sector, and be cross-sectoral. They must also go beyond technical solutions to include legal and policy frameworks. In the MNA Region, a large percentage of the population lives in rural areas on primarily small pieces of land and in the absence of other sources of revenue to supplement their income. Also because many do not own their land, they are without the means to improve their small land areas to increase output and revenues, thus creating a dependence on the natural resources.

Annotation This book details the World Bank assisted forestry projects implemented in the MENA region over the last ten years. It contains a definition of forests in the region and describes their current status.

The current report was compiled by the FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa (NENA) and is aimed at providing member countries with a source of reliable and timely data on the status of forest resources in the region and supporting them in their evidence-based decision-making and planning for the development of the forestry sector. Most of the NENA region falls within the subtropical climatic domain, but it spans an area that ranges from a tropical climatic domain in Mauritania, the Sudan and Yemen to a temperate domain in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Research for Development in the Middle East and North Africa

The countries of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) have long had the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for their populations in the fragile ecosystems of semi-arid and arid areas. Climate change is already a reality in WANA and it places additional constraints on the already fragile ecosystems of dry areas and limited natural resources in WANA. A comprehensive and integrated approach to planning and implementing the climate change adaptation strategies across the wide range of agro-ecosystems in different countries in WANA could help both the planners and the local communities to deal effectively with the projected impacts and also contribute to overall sustainability of agricultural production systems. This book addresses the important issue of climate change and food security in West Asia and North Africa and presents the appropriate strategies which could help in the development of new policies to better adapt agriculture production systems and enhance food security in WANA.