MENA 2022 yemen

Growing climate risks

MENA2020-NileEthiopia

Limited Water Resources Create Tension Between Egypt and Ethiopia

MENA2019-CedarForest

Interfaith Collaboration Drives Conservation of Cedar Forests

MENA2019-MoroccoClimate

Morocco Ranked 2nd in the World  in Climate Change Policy

MENA2018-WadiWurayah

Wadi Wurayah designated a 'biosphere reserve' by UNESCO

MENA2018-LebanonCedars

Climate Change: a New Threat to Lebanon's Forests

MENA2016-Drought

Drought in Eastern Mediterranean Worst in 900 Years

MENA2015-PersianGulf

Persian Gulf  Especially Vulnerable to Warming Climate

MENA2014-seagrass

Carbon Storage in the Seagrass Beds of Abu Dhabi

MENA2011-Oryx

Arabian Oryx Recovery

MENA2011-Gilgamesh

Newly Discovered Tablet of Gilgamesh Provides Rare, Detailed Description of Lebanon's Ancient Cedar Forest

MENA2010-ClimateResilience

Arab Climate Resilience Initiative

MENA2010-NileDelta

Nile Delta Sinking into the Sea

MENA2009-BandeAmir

Band-e Amir National Park Established

MENA2009-FertileCrescent

Decline of the Fertile Crescent

MENA2008-Drought

Middle East Faces Major Drought

MENA2007-MarshArabs

Restoring the Mesopotamian Marshes

MENA2005-SheikhZayed

UAE's Sheikh Zayed named a UN "Champion of the Earth"

MENA2003-AlMishraq

Al-Mishraq Sulfur Plant Fire

MENA1992-RedSeaReef

Red Sea Reef Conservation Efforts

MENA1991-GulfOilSpill

Gulf War Oil Spill

MENA1990-WetlandDrained

Rare Desert Wetland Drained

MENA1982-Oryx

"Operation Oryx"

MENA1971-Ramsar

Ramsar Convention: Pioneering Wetland Conservation in Iran

MENA1970-Aswan

Aswan High Dam

MENA1970-Tiger

Caspian Tiger Extinction

MENA1966-Jordan

Jordan's Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature

MENA1965-BarbaryLion

Extinction of the Barbary Lion

MENA1960-Oryx

Arabian Oryx Extinct in Wild

MENA1954-UNESCO

UNESCO Conference on the Protection of Nature in the Middle East 

MENA1942-Lions

Asiatic Lions Disappear from the Middle East

MENA1902-Aswan

Aswan Low Dam

MENA1870-AtlasBear

Atlas Bear Extinct 

Suez Canal Opens, Initiates Massive Invasive Species Migration

MENA1750-Forest

Ottoman Forest Management

MENA1596-LittleIceAge

Little Ice Age Spurs Major Drought

MENA1580-Carpet

Garden Carpets

Les Observations de plusieurs singularitez [...]Belon Pierre bpt6k1511373w 363

Few trees remain in the forest known as "Cedars of God" 

MENA1550-OttomanEmpire

Ottoman Empire Connects Resource Networks Throughout Middle East

MENA1500-Forest

Early Ottoman Forest Management

MENA1377-Muqaddimah

Muqaddimah on Nature

MENA1000-Nile

First effort to dam the Nile River

MENA800-Sinbad

Elephant Graveyard, Sindbad the Sailor

MENA610-Quran

The Qurʼān

MENA579-Garden

“Iran is Like a Lush Spring Garden”

MENA1000-Hima

Hima System of Conservation Given Legal Standing

MENA230-Elephant

North African Elephant Extirpated due to Roman Exploitation

MENA200-Lybia

Prosperity of Lybia in Antiquity

env-2265-photo-Early Forest Conservation Efforts

Early Forest Conservation Efforts

MENABCE350-Aristotle

Aristotle Describes Efforts to Connect the Nile to the Red Sea

MENABCE600

Torah States an Army Must Not Destroy Trees

MENABCE1000-Qanat

Qanats: Technology Creates Oases in the Desert

MENABCE1380

Lion Hunting in Ancient Egypt

MENABCE1400-Genesis

Book of Genesis

MENA-BCE1600-Water

“Wherever There is Water…”

MENABCE1600

Ivory Markets Expand in the Late Bronze Age

MENA-BCE2000

In Persian, “Pardis” means both Paradise and Garden

dendera-temple-ceiling-6615

Hymn To The Nile

MENABCE2700-Enkidu

Gilgamesh and Enkidu Fell the Sacred Cedars 

MENABCE2700-Iraq

Fertility of Ancient Iraq

MENABCE3000

“As for mankind, numbered are their days”

Africa, North Africa & Middle East

Nile Delta

Where the Nile meets the Mediterranean, the Delta contains 40% of Egypt's human population and a majority of its agriculture. Upstream damming has halted natural regeneration of alluvial soils, a loss which combined with aquifer depletion and shale drilling for natural gas are causing the delta to sink into the sea.

Mesopotamian Marshes

Spanning the border of Iraq and Iran at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Mesopotamian wetlands are historically believed to be the site of the "Garden of Eden." The wetlands nourished great biodiversity and civilization in antiquity, but have since been depleted by upstream dams and intentional drainage. Migratory bird habitats and indigenous ways of life here are threatened.  

Persian/Arabian Gulf

High temperatures and salinity make the Gulf a "naturally stressed" ecosystem, which is nonetheless home to major fisheries and reef ecosystems. Off-shore petroleum drilling contributes major pollution to the water, including massive oil spills during the Iran-Iraq and Gulf Wars. Rapid urban development on the Gulf coast now threatens coastal mangrove ecosystems critical to marine life. 

Red Sea

The Red Sea contains some of the warmest, saltiest water in the world and is home to over 2,000km of coastal reefs. The corals of the Red Sea are of great scientific interest due to their tolerance of the naturally-high water temperatures. However, desalination wastes produced by coastal settlements put stress on the corals, which already live at the limits of habitable salinity.

North Saharan Steppe 

Extending across Northern Africa, the Saharan steppe forms an ecotone between the Mediterranean and Saharan ecoregions. Being wetter and cooler than the absolute desert to the south, it has historically rich biodiversity. Centuries of hunting pressure have extirpated key species such as wild boar and ostrich, endangering many others. Declining biodiversity is tied to increasing desiccation. 

Key Habitats

Water scarcity

The MENA has the greatest water scarcity in the world. Major river systems (Nile, Tigris & Euphrates ) are heavily dammed, disturbing vital delta wetlands in Egypt and Iraq that were once "cradles of civilization." These water systems are shared between multiple countries, contributing to political tension and impeding regional conservation efforts.

Air & Marine Pollution

Natural air pollutants of dust and sand are compounded by high fossil fuel emissions and industrial wastes, contributing to air pollution levels that far exceed WHO recommended levels in most MENA countries, corresponding to increased incidences of respiratory diseases and non-smoking related lung cancers. Marine environments are threatened by largely unregulated urbanization, agricultural runoff, and fossil fuels. 

Climate Change

Given the already-high temperatures and humidity characteristic of the region, projected temperature increases could make parts of the MENA uninhabitable. Nearly all major cities are low-lying coastal zones or river deltas, foreshadowing massive human displacement and political destabilization accompanying projected sea level rise. Salination and flooding already threaten agriculture in Egypt's Nile River delta.

Desertification

Only about 5% of land in the MENA is arable without irrigation, making the region vulnerable to food shortages and fires. Desertification has been ongoing for several millennia and is exacerbated by uncontrolled grazing and aquifer depletion. Industrialization and colonialism have caused the gradual loss of traditional practices of water management and agriculture which have always been required to live sustainably in these arid and semi-arid regions. 

Most Pressing Issues

The Middle East & North Africa