Cairo, 29 November 2007: The Regional office for the Near East of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/RNE) in collaboration with the University of Alexandria will organize an Expert Consultation meeting for the preparation of guidelines for good forestry practices in arid and semi-arid lands, at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Alexandria, Al-Shatby District, Alexandria, Egypt.

The consultation will take place during the period from Monday 3 till Wednesday 5 December 2007, with the participation of forestry and Rangeland experts from ten countries of the region: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, in addition to regional and Sub-Regional Organizations such as The Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), Observatoire Sahara et Sahel (OSS), The Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Low Forest Cover Countries (LFCCS), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and The World Conservation Union (IUCN), as well as FAO experts from the Forestry Department of FAO Headquarters in Rome and the Regional Office for the Near East in Cairo.

Due to recommendations during the 17th session of the Near East Forestry Commission (NEFC), participants requested that FAO develops a code of best practices for arid and semi-arid lands (of all types of forests, including natural ones) as this was more appropriate for the Near East. Moreover, during the NEFC Task Force meeting held in Cairo, Egypt, on 11-13 December 2006, members recognized the priority for the Near East Region to quickly move this recommendation forward. It has been decided to start with the preparation of regional guidelines which FAO may further expand into more global tool.

Such guidelines will be built upon: The United Nations Conference On Environment and Development (UNCED) Conventions, especially the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), The regional criteria and indicators for Sustainable forest management (SFM) in arid and semi arid zones, different regional initiatives on management of forests and wild lands in arid zones, regional experiences on formulating/implementing UNCCD, national programmes /plans/ strategies on arid zones forestry, FAO field and technical papers on arid zones forestry including the FAO Conservation series, the rich literature on arid and semi arid zones.

The outcome of the expert meeting will be the base for an initial draft proposal for a Regional Guidelines for Good Forestry Practices in Arid and Semi Arid Lands to be further discussed at the 18th session of the NEFC (Khartoum, February 2008) and finalized by FAO-Forestry Department.