UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Regional Meeting - Investing in Ecosystem Restoration
Towards an Integrated Approach for Ecosystem Restoration and Development Solutions in the Near East and North Africa Countries
Virtual Event, 13/11/2024

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) calls for the protection and revitalization of global ecosystems to benefit both people and the environment. Ecosystem restoration involves both rehabilitating degraded ecosystems and conserving intact ecosystems. Co-led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the initiative aims to raise awareness and promote ecosystem restoration, while providing a platform for sharing best practices. Launched at the regional level in March 2022, the UN Decade offers a framework for Near East and North Africa (NENA) countries to advocate, strengthen partnerships, exchange knowledge, and scale up restoration efforts in the region.
A 2023 analysis assessing the Arab region's progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlighted major challenges across several key areas. SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) remains difficult to achieve due to unsustainable agricultural practices and rising obesity rates. Additionally, the region is struggling with SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water), where significant progress is lacking. Although some strides have been made toward SDG 13 (Climate Action), least developed countries (LDCs) remain highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters and require greater support for adaptation efforts. It is important to note that no country in the region has fully met SDG 6, with many nations receiving a red score, underscoring the urgent need for improvement1.
Member countries across the region have set goals to meet their international commitments, focusing on land degradation neutrality, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem restoration. Yet, many still face hurdles in translating these targets into actionable strategies due to insufficient technical and financial resources. To address these gaps, greater mobilization of political, scientific, and financial support is needed to drive large-scale restoration efforts. By doing so, countries can enhance their restoration initiatives while also advancing critical goals like biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and land degradation neutrality.
In this context, and in line with the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration biennium workplan (2024-2025), FAO and UNEP are convening a regional meeting that will bring together UN decade national focal points, FAO and UNEP representatives, and regional key partners and actors. The meeting will focus on presenting the concept of a regional investment plan, showcase the two initiatives from the region recognized as World Restoration flagships, and explore strategies to enhance the documentation and monitoring of ongoing ecosystem restoration activities.
Objective and outcomes
The objective of the regional meeting is to bring together government representatives, experts, and regional partners and actors across the region to draw on country and regional experience on ecosystem restoration, share examples of good practices and discuss strategic directions on the way forward. More specifically it will:
Present the NENA Regional Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Development Investment Initiative to optimize financing and implementation of national and regional restoration initiatives across the NENA region in support of national development goals.
Provide a high-level dialogue platform to showcase successful regional initiatives and lessons learned of ecosystem restoration and discuss opportunities for scaling up.
Highlight tools for documentation and monitoring of ecosystem restoration initiatives such as the Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring (FERM) platform.
- Discuss ways on how to strengthen regional collaboration and partnerships in the implementation of future activities.
Time: 15:00 – 16:30 (Cairo time)
Organizers: FAO and UNEP
Languages: English, with simultaneous interpretation in French and Arabic

Agenda
Time | Duration | Agenda item | Speaker |
15:00-15:05 | 5 mins | Moderator’s welcome | Ms Natalia Alekseeva, Principal Coordination Officer, UNEP |
15:05- 15:30 | 25 mins
| Opening discussion themes- High level dialogue
| HRH Princess Basma Bint Ali, FAO Goodwill Ambassador |
Mr Abdulhakim Elwaer, Assistant Director General, Regional Representative, FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa | |||
Mr. Sami Dimassi, UNEP Representative, Regional Director for West Asia | |||
Mr. Abdullah Bin Ali Amri, President of UNEA and Chairman of the Environment Authority of Oman
| |||
15:30-15:40 | 10 mins | COP16 as a key milestone | Mr Habib Abid, Minister of Environment, Tunisia |
15:40- 15:50 | 10 mins | Introduction to the Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring (FERM) platform | Mr. Julian Fox, Senior Forestry Officer FAO |
15:50-16:00 | 10 mins | World Restoration Flagships | |
Restoring Mediterranean Forests (Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Türkiye) | Mr Chadi Mohanna, Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture – Lebanon | ||
16:00-16:25 | 25 mins | Q&A | Moderator |
16:25-16:30 | 5 mins | Closing remarks, next steps and follow-up actions
| Mr Mahmoud Fathallah, League of Arab States (LAS) |
Contact
Fidaa Haddad
Senior Programme Officer
FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa
Geetha Nayak
Regional Coordinator for Biodiversity and Ecosystems UNEP Regional Office for West Asia