LEX-FAOC130883

In order to reconfirm the commitment to conserving its biodiversity, continuing its alignment with the global movement under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and renewing its response to the continued loss of ecosystems and species as a result of the direct and indirect threats, Jordan adopted an updated NBSAP in 2015 in line with the First document developed in 2004. In accordance with the Vision embraced by this National Strategy, to be implemented within 2020, “by 2050, the biodiversity of Jordan is valued for its national heritage vitality, conserved for the well-being and enjoyment of people, and sustainably used for the benefits of current and future generations”. To achieve the Vision, five strategic goals are highlighted in priority areas as follows: 1 good governance and mainstreaming; 2. human-induced pressures; 3. protected areas, priority species and genetic resources; 4. ecosystems services and climate change; 5. knowledge management and monitoring. Goal 1 focuses on the strengthening of participative planning approach with particular focus on empowering the National Biodiversity Committee and its members as well as the local communities. Goal 2 aims at reducing the impacts of pressures on biodiversity including habitat destruction, political conflicts, and tourism and focuses on the various development sectors involved including agriculture, urbanization, tourism, coastal zone development, and other unsustainable activities such as overgrazing, illegal hunting and wildlife collection, alien and invasive species, excessive tree logging, infrastructure development and mining. Goal 3 aims at conserving and protecting priority ecosystems, species and genetic resources of Jordan at the in-situ and ex-situ levels. This goal includes the need of provisions on the enhancement of the national protected areas network for terrestrial, marine ecosystems as well as genetic resources. Goal 4 aims at enhancing the national understanding of dryland ecosystem benefits to national resilience, economic sustainability and local livelihoods and explores the adaptation to climate change. Finally, goal 5 deals with the development of the biodiversity knowledge as the main tool for cultural reform, informing policy and decision-making support. It aims at a specialized capacity building, educational curricula development, and the documentation, dissemination, revitalization, and promotion of traditional knowledge. In order to help food security and combat hunger and malnutrition, the updated NBSAP is based on the idea that determined action to value and protect biodiversity will benefit people in many ways, such as better health, greater food security and less poverty. In particular focusing the national effort on genetic resources on plant resources in order to use them as food for humans and animals and for other uses including: medicinal, soil fixing, nitrogen fixing, as parents of cultivated species, and as disease, drought and saline resistant plants. To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters the Strategy is focused on biodiversity protection and conservation as a tool to slow climate change by enabling ecosystems to store and absorb more carbon. It will also help people adapt to climate change by adding resilience to ecosystems and making them less vulnerable. Better protection of biodiversity is therefore a prudent and cost-effective investment in risk reduction for the global community. In this regard, calls for the creation of climate change funds, the adoption of climate change specific management programs on selected protected areas, the identification of a national center of knowledge on climate change and biodiversity, the design and implementation of a national awareness program on biodiversity and climate change. To ensure an efficient governance system, the document proposes the establishment of a National Biodiversity Committee (NBC) with associated structures and tools.