This working paper is an in-depth assessment of public forest institutions and policy reform in the Near East region, in particular Sudan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Syrian Arab Republic. In addition every effort was made to capture the experience in other countries in the region and to relate them to the larger social, economic and political context. The synthesis highlights emerging opportunities for bringing timely changes in forestry institutions so that forests and woodlands are able to deliver the full range of goods and services required by society

Dryland mountains are of great strategic value to regional and global development. They provide up to 90% of the freshwater supply to surrounding dry lowlands. More than a quarter of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and six out of eight Vavilov Centres of Diversity are found in dryland mountains. Yet these mountain regions are under increasing threat. Published by FAO, UNCCD, Mountain Partnership, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and CDE, with the support of an international group of experts, this publication presents the socio-economy and environment of dryland mountains, the current threats they face, and good practices in sustainable development

This report fits into an overall objective of helping the FAO analyze the role that local knowledge and management systems (LKMS) of natural resources can play in FAO's development projects and programmes. The approach of this report centers on a literature review of existing information on arid and semi-arid Africa. This includes North Africa, the Sahara, the Sahel, the semi-arid parts of the Sudan zone, and the arid zones of southern Africa. A few pertinent examples from other areas are also provided. The main emphasis is placed on the use and management of natural resources, primarily vegetation, but also water and wildlife. The majority of production systems in these arid zones in one way or another rely on livestock (ranging from settled agropastoralists to continuously mobile nomads). Thus, pastoral systems, defined as any production system that relies for more than 10% of its output on livestock, is the main focus of the report, but other production systems that rely on resources in their natural state, such as hunting, gathering, fishing, and wood collecting, will also be considered