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TheHashemiteKingdomofJordanMinistryofEnvironment

FifthNationalReportonBiodiversity

September2014

Incooperationwithandsupportfrom:

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Publisher JordanianMinistryofEnvironment (MoEnv)IncooperationwiththeGlobalEnvironmentalFacilityandWorldBank

Author InternationalUnionfortheConservationofNature–RegionalOfficeforWestAsia(IUCN‐ROWA)

Citation 2014:JordanianFifthNationalReportundertheConventiononBiologicalDiversity.MinistryofEnvironment,Amman,Jordan.

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TableofContents

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 6 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 7

PartI:BiodiversityStatus,TrendsandThreats.......................................................................................12 

Section 1: The Importance of Biodiversity for Jordan ........................................................................ 12 1:1JordanCountryProfile ................................................................................................................. 12 1:2OverviewofJordan’sBiodiversity ............................................................................................... 14 1:3SocioeconomicandCulturalValuesofBiodiversity ................................................................... 25 

Section 2: Changes to Biodiversity since the Forth National Report ................................................. 27 2:1TerrestrialFlora ........................................................................................................................... 27 2:2TerrestrialFauna .......................................................................................................................... 28 2:3MarineandFreshwaterBiodiversity .......................................................................................... 29 2:4GeneticBiodiversity ..................................................................................................................... 31 2:5theNationalProtectedAreasNetwork ....................................................................................... 33 

Section 3: Main Threats to Biodiversity ............................................................................................... 36 3:1AnalysisofDirectandIndirectDriversofBiodiversityLoss ..................................................... 36 

Section 4: Impacts of Biodiversity Changes (Loss) on Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing ............. 41 4:1SynthesisoftheEconomicValuationofEcosystems ................................................................. 41 4:2ImpactsofBiodiversityLossonEcosystemServicesandHumanwellbeing ........................... 42 

PartII:NationalBiodiversityStrategyandMainstreamingBiodiversity........................................47 

Section five: Update on the National Biodiversity Strategy ................................................................ 47 5.1NationalTargetsandIndicatorsRelatedtoBiodiversity ........................................................... 47 5.2CurrentNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlan ........................................................... 48 5.3TheImplementationoftheCurrentNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlan ............. 50 5.4TheUpdateoftheNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlan .......................................... 51 

Section Six: Actions and Measures Taken to Implement the CBD since the 4th National Report ... 53 6.1NationalLegislation,InstitutionalSupportandCapacityBuilding ........................................... 53 6.2Managementofwildlifetradeanduse ........................................................................................ 54 6.3ConservationofAgro‐biodiversity .............................................................................................. 55 6.4ManagingtheImpactsofClimateChange ................................................................................... 57 6.5MainstreamingBiodiversityintoNationalFrameworksandStrategies .................................. 58 

PartIII:Progresstowardsthe2020AichiBiodiversityTargetsandMDGs.....................................60 

Section Seven: Progress towards the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan ......................................................... 60 7.1Generalapproachtothe2020StrategicPlanandAichitargets ................................................ 60 7.2NationalTargetsandtheirRelevancetoAichiTargets .............................................................. 61 7.3Proposedstrategicactionstowardsanimprovednationalalignmentapproach .................... 79 

Section Eight: Synthesis on Jordan contribution towards the relevant MDGs................................. 80 8:1Relevanceoftheconventiontothebroadernationalobjectives .............................................. 80 8.2NationalEffortsRelatedtoMDG7 ............................................................................................... 81 

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AcknowledgementsThe Ministry of Environment of Jordan extends its warmest gratitude to her HighnessPrincess Basma Bint Ali for her custodianship, leadership and support for the nationalprogramonbiodiversity conservation in general and thepreparationof the fifthnationalreportonbiodiversityinparticular.Special thanks are conveyed to theNationalBiodiversity Committee andvariousnationalinstitutions from the government agencies, non government organizations, academia, aswell as local communities across the kingdom for their invaluable contributions in thepreparationofthisreport.Thereportteamwould–particularly‐liketoexpressspecialappreciationtotheMinistryofPlanning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Agriculture, the ForestryDepartment,theRangelandDepartment,theNationalCenterforAgriculturalResearchandExtension,theRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofNature,theJordanRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofMarineEnvironment,theRoyalBotanicGarden,theJordanUniversity,andtheAqabaMarineStationfortheirconstructiveengagementandcontinuouscommitment.ThereportwasmadepossiblethroughthegeneroussupportfromtheGlobalEnvironmentFacilityandtheWorldBankinadditiontothetechnicalcooperationwiththeInternationalUnionfortheConservationofNature,RegionalOfficeforWestAsia.

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ListofAbbreviations ASEZA AqabaSpecialEconomicZoneAuthorityBRP BadiaRestorationProgramCA CountryAssessmentCAP CommunityActionPlanCBD ConventiononBiologicalDiversityCBRR Community‐basedRangelandRehabilitationProjectCITES Convention of International Trade in Endangered SpeciesDOS DepartmentofStatisticsFAO FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUNFDI ForeignDirectInvestmentGDP GrossDomesticProductGEF GlobalEnvironmentalFacilityIUCN InternationalUnionfortheConservationofNatureJD JordanianDinarJREDS Royal Marine Conservation Society of JordanLaMME LaboratoryforMolecularMarineEcologyMCM MillionCubicMetersMDG MillenniumDevelopmentGoalMWI MinistryofWaterandIrrigationMoA MinistryofAgricultureMoEnv MinistryofEnvironmentMoMA MinistryofMunicipalAffairsMoPIC MinistryofPlanningandInternationalCooperationMoTA MinistryofTourismandAntiquitiesNAP NationalActionPlanNBSAP NationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlanNCARE TheNationalCentreforAgricultureResearchandExtensionNEP NationalExecutiveProgramNGO Non‐GovernmentalOrganizationNVH NationalVirtualHerbariumOECD OrganizationofEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentPA ProtectedAreaPDTRA PetraDevelopmentandTourismAuthorityPGR PlantGeneticResourcesRBG RoyalBotanicalGardenROWA RegionalOfficeforWestAsiaRSCN TheRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofNatureSCA SpecialConservationAreaSGP SmallGrantsProgramUNDP UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramUNEP UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramUNESCO UnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganizationUSAID UnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopment

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ExecutiveSummaryThestatusofbiodiversityinJordanremainsunsatisfactoryandfacingnumerouschallengesand constraints. This is the fifth national report on biodiversity reporting the kingdom’sprogress on the implementation of the convention on biological diversity. The reportaddresses thecountrybiodiversityon three levels.The first level reportson the statusofbiodiversity, its trendsandassociated threatswithparticular focuson thechangeswhichtook place since the submission of the fourth national report in 2009. The second levelcovers an update on the implementation of the national biodiversity strategy and actionplan, including a preliminary review of the progress made on the achievement of thevariousthemesofthe2003planandtheproposedprojects.Italsoaddressestheframeworkfortheupdateoftheplanaspartofthecountry’scommitmenttowardsthealignmentoftheplanwith theglobalbiodiversitystrategy2011‐2019and itsassociatedAichi targets.Thethird level presents a preliminary compilation of the national progress against theachievementof theglobalAichi targets2020and the foreseenapproach to systemize theprocessoftheirnationalalignmentandintegration.Biodiversitystatus,trendsandthreatsThis reportingperiodupdated and reconfirmed the total numberof species recorded forJordanfromthevariousbiodiversitygroups.Jordanembracesfourbio‐geographic,namelybio‐geographicregions: theMediterranean, Irano‐Turanian,Saharo‐ArabianandSudanian.Thefourregionscomprisethirteenvegetationtypeswhichprovidethenaturalhabitatsforover 4,000 species of fauna and flora from the terrestrial, marine and freshwaterenvironments in addition to genetic resources. Jordan’s 2,622 species of vascular plantsrepresent1%oftheworldflora.Further,Jordanhosts644animalspeciesofwhich,83aremammalspecies,436speciesofbirds,348speciesoffishandmanymoreothers.Thereportalso presented a synthesis on the various biodiversity constituencies includingwetlands,forests,redlistspeciesandimportantbirdareas.Thefollowingtablerepresentsanexamplefrom theglobal IUCNdatabaseon thenumbersof red list species recorded in Jordanandcomparedtoseveralcountriesfromtheregion:Country Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians Fishes Mollusks Other

invert.Plants Total

Jordan 13 8 6 0 12 5 55 1 100Iraq 14 14 3 1 17 1 16 1 67Lebanon 10 8 7 0 20 8 6 2 61Oman 10 8 8 0 25 2 29 6 88Palestine 3 8 4 1 0 2 2 0 20SaudiArabia

10 13 3 0 24 1 58 3 112

Yemen 9 12 6 1 24 2 66 162 282ChangestobiodiversitysincetheforthnationalreportThe report recaps a summary of updates on the various elements of biodiversity withparticular focus on terrestrial flora and fauna, genetic resources, and marine diversityincludingthefreshwaterecosystemsandspecies.Inaddition,thereportgivesanupdateonthe status of the national protected areas network. Three new protected areas were

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established since 2009 namely, Yarmouk, Fifa, Qatar with the latter not beingoperationalizedyet.Thefollowingtablepresentstheuptodatelistofprotectedareas:No NameofPA Dateofestablishment Area(km2)1 ShoumariWildlifeReserve 1975 212 AzraqWetlandReserve 1978 123 MujebBiosphereReserve 1985 2124 AjlounForestReserve 1987 125 DanaBiosphereReserve 1989 2926 WadiRumWorldHeritageSite 1997 7297 AqabaMarinePark 1997 2.58 DibbinForestReserve 2004 8.59 YarmoukForestReserve 2010 2110 QatarNatureReserve 2011 11011 FifaNatureReserve 2011 26

Total 1,420Threatstonationalbiodiversitycontinuethreatenits longtermsustainability.Mostof thethreatsarecarriedonfromthetimeoftheNBSAPdevelopment2003withsomeemergingpressures during the last few years including the issue of refugees relatedmostly to theregional political crisis. Key current threats include land degradation, tourism, climatechanges and several others. Various government, nongovernment and academicorganizationsand institutionsare exerting significantefforts tomitigateandadapt to theimpact of the different threats and their root causes. Specific national initiatives andprograms have been undertaken to assess, valuate and promote the economic values ofecosystems in termsofprovisional,regulatoryandculturalservices.This includesseveralstrategic studiesonmedicinalplants, rangelands,protected areasandothers.Despite theprogress made, much more is needed to systematically approach the valuation ofecosystemsservicesandmainstreamresultsintonationaldecisionmakingframeworksandprocesses.UpdateontheNBSAPJordanhasnotyetupdatedtheNBSAPoritsalignmentwiththeglobalbiodiversitystrategyand its associated Aichi targets. It is anticipated that the NBSAP will be updated andpublishedbeforetheendof2014.KeychallengesfacingtheimplementationofthecurrentNBSAPinclude: Theabsenceofclearresourcemobilizationstrategy. The lackof aunifiedknowledgemanagement anddataprocessing systemspecific for

biodiversity. Theineffectivenationalcommunicationandcoordinationframeworkonbiodiversity. TheNBSAPwasnotwellincorporatedintoothernationalsectoralplansandprojects. TheprojectsidentifiedintheNBSAPdonotadequatelyaddresstheprivatesectorand

localcommunitiestheirplanninganddelivery. TheNBSAPwasnotaccompaniedwithacontinuousnationaloutreachprogram. Lead implementing agencies were not clearly identified for each of the proposed

projects.

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ThenationalteamagreedtoadoptthebelowprocessfortheupdateoftheNBSAP: TheformulationofanationalworkinggroupfortheupdateoftheNBSAPcomprisingall

key stakeholder and interest groups. The working group will be convened by theMinistryofEnvironmentandwillbeguidedbythenationalbiodiversitycommittee.

Afullreviewofthenationalprogressmadeontheimplementationofthe2003NBSAP,including:

o Theupdateofthesituationanalysisofkeybiodiversityvaluesandattributes.o Therevisionofthemainthreatstonationalbiodiversity.o Theanalysisofthekeydirectandindirectdriversofbiodiversityloss.o ThereviewoftheNBSAPprojectsimplementationandtheirlessonslearned.

ThedevelopmentofarevisedvisionstatementforbiodiversityinJordan. The review of the strategic goals for biodiversity alongside their midterm outcomes.

ThesewillbealignedwiththeglobalbiodiversitystrategyandtheAichitargets. Thedevelopmentofarevisednationalactionplanforbiodiversity. The development and adoption of a revised governance framework for the

implementation of the NBSAP and its monitoring using global best practices andguidelines.

ThedesignofanationaloutreachandawarenessraisingcampaigntopromotenationalengagementintheNBSAPimplementation.

Thedevelopmentofastrategicframeworkforfinancingtheupdatedplanfromnationalandexternalsources.

Thenationalteaminchargeofbiodiversityadoptedthe2003NBSAPdocumenttoreportontheprogressmadeontheimplementationoftheglobalstrategy.Further,abriefsynthesiswas made by the reporting team to preliminarily quantify the relevance between thecurrent NBSAP and the Aichi target. The following diagram attempts to summarize theresultofcorrelation:

NationalProgresstowardsthe2020AichiTargetsandMDGsThisreportgivesaparticularfocusonthenationalprogressmadeontheimplementationofthe global biodiversity strategy and its associated Aichi targets. The national approach

2621

11

42

58

5

32

1116

11 1116

2621

0 0

11

0

16

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

PercentageofRepresentativenessofAichiTargetswithintheStrategicThemesofthe2003NBSAPinJordan

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towardstheimplementationoftheglobalstrategyhasnotbeenfullysystematic,however,majorachievementscanbereportedformthevarioussectorsandstakeholdersinvolvedinthe environmental protection sector from the government agencies, nongovernmentorganizations, academic institutions, local communities andprivate sector.Althougha bitdelayed, a fully aligned national strategies, targets and programs with the 2020 globalstrategyandtheAichitargetswillbeastrategicgoalfortheministryofenvironmentintheupdateprocessoftheNBSAP(2015‐2020).Atotalof25nationalinitiativeswereidentifiedtocontributetothepartialachievementof13oftheglobalAichiTargetssincethepreparationoftheforthnationalreportin2009.Thefollowing table summarizes the national initiatives implemented under the various 2020targets:AichiTarget2020No. NationalinitiativesTarget1 1‐TheNationalAllianceforEnvironmentalNongovernmentOrganizations

2‐TheBergeshForestsCampaign3‐TheJREDSEco‐SchoolsProgram

Target2 4‐MainstreamingBiodiversityintheTourismSectorDevelopment5‐ClimateChangeandBiodiversity6‐EffortsoftheForestryDepartment/MinistryofAgricultureontheSustainableUseofbiodiversity7‐TheJREDSFEEPrograminAqaba,WadiRumandPetra

Target4 8‐TheSweimehEco‐ParkontheDeadSeaCoastTarget5 9‐TheNewEnvironmentProtectionLawTarget7 10‐TheNationalForestryDepartment/ MinistryofAgricultureProgramTarget9 11‐ControllingtheInvasiveSpeciesatAzraqWetlandReserveTarget10 12‐TheMarineBiodiversityConservationinAqabaTarget11 13‐TheNewNationalSpecialConservationAreasNetwork

14‐TheRoyalBotanicalGardenSCA15‐ThePetraPAProgram16‐WadiRumWorldHeritageProgram

Target12 17‐TheNationalPlantsRedListbyRBGTarget13 18‐NCARENationalConservationandUtilizationofPlantGeneticResources

(PGR)19‐TheSeedCentreattheForestryDepartment20‐Ecosystemconservation‐localHoneybees&biodiversity–AcasestudyfromNCARE

Target18 21‐Community‐basedRangelandRehabilitation:ACaseStudyfromTallAr‐Rumman22‐TheAmmanDeclarationonInnovatingHima

Target19 23‐TheRSCNAjlounNatureAcademy24‐JordanEnvironmentalInformationSystem(JEIS)25‐TheNationalBiodiversityInformationManagementSystem(BIMS)

The report gives a brief on the progress made on the achievements of the biodiversityrelatedMDGswithparticularfocusonMDG7onenvironmentalsustainability.Finally, the report presents a set of strategic recommendation geared towards theimprovement of the national alignment approach with the global strategy. These aresummarizesasfollows:

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The enhancement of the role of the national coordinationmechanisms, primarily theNationalBiodiversityCommittee.

Encourage and facilitate the inter‐institutional collaboration in the various fields ofbiodiversitywhileallowingformorespecialization.

The finalization of the review of the NBSAP andmore importantly the adoption of aclearnationalmechanismforitsimplementationandmonitoring.Thisalsoincludesthedevelopmentof a clear financing strategy for theplan implementation from local andexternalsources.

Theadoptionofanationalcapacitybuildingprogramfortheministryanditsassociatedpartners and stakeholders from the government, civil society, local communities andprivatesector.

Enhance the participation and involvement of national stakeholders and particularlylocalcommunitiesinthedesign,implementationandevaluationofnationalbiodiversitystrategiesandprogramsasthecentralandsitebaselevels.Thisshouldincludeaclearpolicy on sharing the benefits of biodiversity across all relevant stakeholders andinterestgroups.

Theadoptionofanagreeduponfinancingplan for the implementationof thedeliveryon thevariousglobal targets related tobiodiversity conservation.This should includebothnationalaswellinternationalsourcesoffundingandtechnicalcooperation.

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PartI:BiodiversityStatus,TrendsandThreats

Section1:TheImportanceofBiodiversityforJordan

1:1JordanCountryProfile1 Jordan in it relatively small size of 89,342 sq km territory, of which 88,802 is land and 540 sq km is water including a 26 km long coastline. The climate of Jordan is mostly arid desert with a relatively short rainy between November and April. The topography of the country is highly contrasting; from more than 400 meter below sea level at the Dead Sea to 1,854 m above sea level at the southern-most boundary with Saudi Arabia in Umm ad Dami Mountain. This variation of physical environment is strongly reflected in the diversity of live in the country in terms of cultural and natural heritage and in particular as related to biological diversity. Demographically, Jordan ishometoaround6.5millionpeople, and is consideredayoungpopulation;morethan70%ofthepopulationisunder30yearsofage,whichsuggeststhatan investment inyouthcanbean instrument fornationaldevelopmentandsustainability.Those between the age of 15 and 24 comprise 22% of the population.80% ofwhich areurbanizedwith literacyratioofalmost96%,oneof thehighest in the regionandofgoodreputationofeducationalsystems,includingthoserelatedtoenvironmentaleducationandbiodiversitycenteredlearningandsensitization.Jordan's economy is among the smallest in theMiddle East, with insufficient supplies ofwater, oil, and other natural resources underlying the government's heavy reliance onforeign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic highratesofpoverty,unemployment,inflation,andalargebudgetdeficit.Jordanisanuppermiddle‐incomecountry,withapercapitagrossdomesticproduct(GDP)ofUS$6,100with agriculture contributing around4%, industry30%and services around67%.Thecountryhaslimitednaturalresources,potashandphosphateareitsmainexportcommodities,limitedagriculturalland,andwaterisseverelyscarce,asthecountryranksastheworld’sfourthpoorestcountryintermsofwaterresources.Servicesaccountformorethan70percentofthegrossdomesticproduct(GDP)andmorethan75percentofjobs.Asoneofthemostopeneconomiesoftheregion,Jordaniswellintegratedwithitsneighborsthrough trade, remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), and tourism. Theunemployment rate in Jordan is estimated to be of around 14% with an unofficial ratereaching30%.Mainagriculturalproductsincludecitrus,tomatoes,cucumbers,olives,strawberries,stonefruits;sheep,poultry,anddairy.The industrieson theotherhandcompriseclothing, fertilizers,potash,phosphatemining,pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, inorganic chemicals, light industriesmanufacturing,andveryimportantlytourism.The country Natural Resources are scarce with mainly phosphate, potash and shale oil.Aroundonly2%ofJordanisarablelandincludingatotalirrigatedareaof800sqkm.Thetotalrenewablewaterresourcesisaround.94(MCM)(2011)withapercapitawithdrawal 1 Numbersincludedinsub‐section1.1areallderivedfromthedataadoptedbytheJordanDepartmentofStatistics(DOS)

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rate of around 166 (MCM) /yr divided between domestic (31%), industrial (4%), andagriculture(65%).Drought is the main Natural Hazard facing Jordan in addition to potential for periodicearthquakes. The main issues related to the environment in the country comprise thelimitednaturalfreshwaterresources,deforestation,overgrazingsoilerosion,desertificationandpollution.Despitethedevelopmentofmanyrelevantsectoralstrategiesandpolicies,Jordanhoweverremainsoneofthepoorestfourcountriesinpercapitawatersharethroughouttheworld.While noting the strenuous efforts exerted by the Government in managing the limitedwater resources and in the search for additional resources, the per capita share is stilldiminishing due to the natural and imposedpopulation growth,which occurredover thepastdecades as a result of political and security conflicts and instabilities inneighboringcountries, which exerted pressure and affected Jordan’s efforts and development plansaimed at providingwater that couldmeet the country’s development needs. Accordingly,the per capita share of available water decreased from around 3,600 cubic meters perannum in 1946 to less than 150 cubicmeters per annum in 2008. This is considered asbeingseverelylowerthantheWorldWaterPovertyLineof1,000cubicmetersperannum.

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1:2OverviewofJordan’sBiodiversityOverallDiversityofLifeJordan is a small country, with many development aspirations and challengescoupled with extremely limited natural resources, however with a remarkablebiological diversity. The varied physical characteristics of the country have yielded anunusualcaseofrichesinlandformsandbiologicaldiversityinitsecosystems,habitatsandspecies.Attheintersectionofthreecontinents,Jordanencapsulatesfourbio‐geographicregions:theMediterranean, Irano‐Turanian,Saharo‐ArabianandSudanianpenetrationeachwith theirrespectiveecosystemsand floraandfauna.Thirteenvegetation typesare identified in thecountryreflectingthevariousclimaticandgeographicvariations.ThetotalnumberofwildspeciesoccurringinJordanisapproximatedto4,000speciesfromterrestrialandmarinefloraandfauna.OfJordan’s2,622recordedspeciesofvascularplants,representing about 1% ofworld flora, 100 are endemic, including Irisnigricans, Jordan’sfloral emblem, Plantagomaris‐mortui, Crucianella transjordanica, Centaurea procurrens,Scrophularianabataerum,Tamarixtetragyn,andT.palaestina.There are a total of 644 animal species of which, 83 aremammal species, including thegloballythreatenedCapranubiana,Gazelladorcus,Gazellasubgutturosa,GazellagazelleandOryxleucoryx.AvifaunacompositionisespeciallyrichinJordanbecauseofitsgeographicallocationassociatedwith theGreatRiftValleyand lyingonamajormigratorybirds route.KeybirdspeciesincludeGeronticuseremita,Chlamydotismacqueenii,Nephronpercnopterus,SerinussyriacusandVanellusgregarius.TheGulfofAqabahostsmorethan348speciesoffish,151speciesofhardcoralsand120speciesofsoftcorals,inadditiontoavarietyofinvertebrate’sspeciesincludingsnails,crabsandseaworms.AtotalofthreethreatenedspeciesofseaturtleswererecordedintheGulfofAqaba.TherateofendemismisconsideredhighamongtheRedSeafishesandrepresents13.7%ofthetotalfishspeciesrecordedwithsevenspeciesoffishesrecognizedasendemicto the Gulf of Aqaba. More than 20% of mollusks and echinodermata as well as severalspeciesofalgaeoccurringintheGulfmaybeendemic.Freshwaterdiversityisalsohighwith15ofspeciesrecodedincludingtheendemicAphaniussirhani. Further, Jordan hosts 110 species of herpeto‐fauna including three species ofamphibians,107speciesofreptileswherethe laterconstitutesof37snakes,one tortoise,one terrapin and 68 species of lizards; including the flagship species of the UromastyxaegyptiaandVaranusgriseus.

Bio‐geographicalRegionsThereare threemain topographic features in Jordan including: theRift Jordanvalley, themountain ranges that extends fromnorth to south, and thedesertplateau. Basedon thebiophysical characteristics prevailing in the country, Jordan is subdivided into four bio‐geographic regions: Mediterranean, Irano‐Turanian, Saharo‐Arabian and Subtropical

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(Sudanian), these topographic variations resulted in rich variation in flora and faunadiversifications. The southernmost part of Jordan harbors the Gulf of Aqaba with itsspectacularcoralreefsandtheirassociatedmarinediversity.ThetwoopposingclimaticregimesoftheMediterraneanlocatedinthewesternpartofthecountry and the Desert in the eastern part surround the steppe region (Irano‐Turanian)whichrepresentsatransitionareabetweenthesetwobio‐geographicalregions.Adynamiceco‐toneisalwayspresentbetweenanytwobio‐geographicregions.In certain locations, three bio‐geographic regions meet as in Ras Al‐Naqab, causing animmense pressure on the occurrence of biological species leading to the production ofendemicspeciesresultedfromacclimatizationandadaptation.Technically speaking, the classification of Jordan’s biodiversity is primarily based on thediversityofthebio‐geographicalregionsrepresentedinthecountry.Theseare:theSaharo‐ArabianandSudanianclimate, the Irano‐Turanianclimate,andtheMediterraneanclimateregions.Withineachofthethreeclimatezones, thediversityofecosystemscomessecondresulting in high number of ecosystems across the regions, each with its distinctiveassemblagesofvegetationtypes,faunaandfloraandotherassociatednaturalvalues.Thefollowingincludesabriefdescriptionofthefourbio‐geographicalregionsinJordan:Mediterranean:ThisregionisrestrictedtothehighlandsextendingfromIrbidinthenorthtoRasEn‐NaqabinthesouthinadditiontosomeisolatedrepresentationinthemountainsofWadi Rum. The altitude ranges from 700‐1850m above sea level. The rainfall rangesfrom 300‐600 mm. The minimum annual temperature ranges from 5‐10º C and meanannualmaximarangefrom20‐30ºC.SoilisdominatedbytheredMediterraneansoil(terrarosa)andtheyellowMediterraneansoil(rendzina).ThisregioncomprisesthemostfertilepartoftheKingdomandcontains90percentofthepopulation.Irano‐Turanian: A narrow strip of variable width that surrounds all the Mediterraneanecozoneexceptinthenorth.Itischaracterizedbybeingtreeless.ThevegetationismainlysmallshrubsandbushessuchasArtemisiaherba‐alba,andAnabasissyriaca.Altitudesrangefrom 500‐700 m, and rainfall ranges from 150‐300 mm. Mean annual minimumtemperaturesrangefrom5‐2ºC,andmeanannualmaximarangefrom15‐25ºC.Soilsaremostlycalcareousortransportedbywind.Thevegetationisdominatedbychamaeophytes.Saharo‐Arabian:ThisistheeasterndesertorBadiaandcomprisesthelargestpartofJordanencompassing almost 80% of its total area. It is flat except for a few hills or smallmountains,theresultofvolcaniceruptions.Altituderangesbetween500‐700m.Themeanannualrainfall ranges from50‐200mm,meanannualminimumtemperaturesrange from15‐2º C andmean annualmaxima range from 25‐40º C. Soil ismostly poor, either clay,hamada, saline, sandy or calcareous. Vegetation is dominated by small shrubs and smallannualsinthewadibeds.Sudanian:ItstartsfromthenorthernpartoftheDeadSeaandendsatthetipoftheGulfofAqaba in the south along theDead Sea depression andWadi Araba. Themost importantcharacteristic of this region is the altitude, considered the lowest point on earth (410mbelow sea level near the Dead Sea). Rainfall ranges from 50‐100 mm, the mean annualminimum temperature ranges from 10‐29º C, and mean annual maximum temperatures

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rangefromtheminimal20to35ºC.Soilsaremostlyalluvial,saline,sandyandgranitic.Theonlyinlandsanddunesareinthisregion.ThevegetationischaracterizedbyatropicaltreeelementsuchasAcaciaspp.andZiziphusspina‐christiinadditiontosomeshrubsandannualherbs.Thefollowingmapdemonstratesthefourbio‐geographicregionsofJordan:

(Source:RSCN,2014)

The below table summarizes the Jordan bio‐geographic regions associated with theirrepresentativeecosystemsandvegetationtypes:

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*numbersindicateelevation.(source:Eisawietal,2014)

VegetationTypesAsmentioned earlier, the classification of Jordanbiodiversity is basedon its eco‐regions,ecosystemsandvegetationtypes.ThevegetationmapofJordandevelopedbyAl‐Eisawiin1985 and 1996 represent the prime scientific reference to the classification of floralbiodiversity. Itwas also the biological foundationmainly used in the development of thenationalprotectedareasnetworkinitsrevisedversionof2009.Theoriginalnumberof12vegetation typeswas updated to become 13 in light of a strategic review undertaken byRSCNincooperationwithMoEnv,academiaandotherinternationalpartners.Since itsdevelopment, littlewaschanges to thecountrymapof thevegetation types.ThefollowingincludesarecaponthemainvegetationtypesadoptedforJordanalongwiththechangesmadetothemduringthelastfiveyears.Thebelow table summarize the key characteristics of the vegetation types alongwith itssize, attributes, a percentage of coverage in established protected areas and their mainchallenges:No. Nameof

vegetationtype

Size(sqkm) Keyattributes

%CoverageinEst.PAs2

2Thepercentagenumber represents the amount covered from the total areaof aparticular vegetation type in establishedprotectedareas.

Bio‐geographicregions

Representativeecosystems

Mediterranean

Pineforest:Pinushalepensis(380)*Evergreenoakforest:Quercuscaliprinos (600)Deciduousoakforest:Quercusaegilops(400)JuniperforestJuniperusphoenicea (600)Degradednon‐forest(500)Hydric(120):Arundodonax

Irano‐Turanian Steppe:Retamareatum (400)Hydric:Phgramitesaustralis(80)

Saharo‐Arabian GravelHamada:Anabasisarticulata (200)RunoffHamada:Retamareatum,Artimesiaherba‐alba,Achilleafragrrantissima(200)PebblesHamada(Basalt)(400):Diplotaxisharrah,Jenandrisiris,Achilleafragrantissima,AronsoniafactoroviskiPlaya(Bjaha):Halochnemumstrobilaceum,Suedafruticosa,HaplophylumamplixicausleSalinesorOasis:Nitraiaretusa,Tamarixpassarinoides(30)Hydricfresh:Phragmitisaustralis,Typhaanguistifolia,Juncusactuaus(70)Hydricsaline:Limoiumpurinosum

Tropical(Sudanianpenetration)

Sandydunes:Haloxylonpersica,Panicumturgidem(200)Saline:Nitrariaretusa,Juncusmaritimus (30)Rocky:Acaciatortillis(100)Hydric:Tamarixjordanica,Mauringaperegrine,Capparisdeciduea,Salvadorapersicum((70)

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1 Pineforest 89 TypicalMediterraneanvegetationformsthebestforestsinJordanandreachesaclimaxinsomeplaces,withthedominanttreesofAleppopine(Pinushalepensis)upto15meters.Thisforestvegetationusuallyoccursnaturallyonhighaltitudes,mostlyoverthan700mandwhereRendzinaandcalcareoussoilsarepresent.InsomeplacesthepinetreesarereplacedbyQuercuscoccferaasaresultofthedegradationoftheprimaryvegetation,formingasecondarysuccession.

9.6

2 Evergreenoakforest

747 Thistypeofvegetationgrowsathighaltitudesofmorethan700m.,andonredsoil(TerraRossa)ofhardlimestoneparentalrock,unlessitisasecondaryvegetationreplacingAleppopineforestoncalcareousoryellow(Rendzina)soilofsoftlimestoneparentalrock.ThevegetationcompositionofthistypeofforestvariesthroughouttheleadingspeciesincludingtheevergreenoakQuercuscoccferawhichisthemostimportantelement

0.92

3 Deciduousoakforest

433 ThedeciduousoakforestsinJordanoccurataloweraltitudethanallotherforestandmostlygrowonredorbrownsoilofhardlimestoneparentalrock.

4.62

4 Juniperforest

272 ThisoccursonlyintheSouthernmountainsofJordanusuallyathighaltitudes,over1,000m.,andsosandyrocks.TheJuniperforestformationisdominatedbytheleadingspeciesofJuniperusphoeniciaassociatedwithCupressussempervirensonthesandstoneformationTheCypressustreesCupressussempervirensareveryrareaswildplantsandonlyoccurinthatparticularlocality.

0.78

5 Med.nonforest

4,595 TheMediterraneanregionwhichisnotcoveredbyforestscontainssomeshrubsandbushes.SuchregionisoftenreferredtoasGarigueandBathaMediterraneanvegetationtheleadingspeciesofthisvegetationareRhamnuspalaestinus,Calycotomeviliosa,SarcopoteriumspinosumandCistusspp.intheNorth,andArtemisiaherba‐aibawillbeassociatedwithothersintheSouth.

2.14

6 Steppe 9,641 ThisvegetationisconfinedtotheIrano‐TuranianregionandmayintrudeeitherintotheMediterraneanortheSaharo‐Arabianregion.ThecompositionofthevegetationvariesaccordingtothesoilandotherclimaticdifferencesdependingonitslocationwithrespecttotheMediterraneanregion.ForexamplethesteppevegetationintheNorthernGhorwhichlinkswiththeNorthernmountainsisdominatedbyRetamaraetam,Ziziphuslotus,Z.nummulariaandFerulacommuniswithalmostnoArtemisiaherba‐alba,whilethesteppevegetationintheNorth,EastandSouthMediterraneanbordersshowsotherelementslikePistaciaatlantica,AnabasissyriacaandArtemisiaherba‐albawhicharenotfoundintheWesternsteppes

2.49

7 Halophytic 1,150 Thisoccursinthedesert(Saharo‐Arabian)regionaroundAzraqOasis,intheRiftValleyaroundtheDeadSea,inWadiAraba,andaroundtheshouldersoftheRiverJordanonwhatisknownlocallyasKatarat.Theleadingspeciesvary,dependingontheirabilityto

3.25

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toleratethedegreeofsalinityForexampleNitrariaretusaisasalinetolerantspeciesbutitdoesnotgrowifthesalinityexceedscertainlimitsandwillbereplacedbyotherspeciessuchasArthrocnemumfruticosum,Suaedaspp.Juncussp.andTamarixspp

8 Sanddunes 1,266 SuchvegetationisonlyfoundintheSudanianregionespeciallyinWadiArabaandWadiRumThevegetationismadeupofshrubsorbushes,mainlyofsanddunefixatives.InsomeplacesthevegetationhasreacheditsclimaxespeciallyintheareaneartoGharandalalongtheroadtoAqabawheretheplantsreachaheightofthreemeters.TheleadingspeciesistheHaloxylonpersicum

35.54

9 Hamada 66,611 MostoftheSaharo‐ArabianregioninJordanisofhamadatype,whichcomprisesabout50percentofthetotalarea.Threesubdivisionsofhamadacanberecognized:1.Run‐offhamada2.Gravelhamada3.Pebblehamada

0.43

10 Tropical 424.16 ItoccursintheSudanianregionwhichextendsfromDair‘AllaintheNorthdowntoAqabaGulfintheSouthbutitisconcentratedmoreintheregionsclosetotheDeadSea,lowerJordanValley,asinSouthernGhor,GhorSafiandGhorFaifa.ThevegetationisconfinedtothealluvialsoilsoftheRiftValleymostofwhichhavebeendestroyedandusedforvegetableagriculture.

12.37

11 Acaciaandrockyvegetation

2621.44

ThisvegetationisconfinedtothegranitemountainsbasesandtotherockypartsofWadiAraba,WadiAl‐YutumandWadiRumintheSudanianRegion.ItischaracterizedbythepresenceofscatteredAcaciatreeswhichgettobemoredenseratthehardrocksofthemountainsbasesandtheyformedapurestandsofAcaciatwoodlands

6.94

12 Hydrophytic 674.23 ThisvegetationisconfinedtothegranitemountainbasesandtotherockypartofWadiAraba,Aqaba,WadiAl‐yutm,andWadiRumintheSudanianregion.AcaciatreesarescatteredthroughWadiArababuttheygetdensertowardthehardrocksofthemountainbasesuntiltheyformapurestandofAcaciawoodlandespecially20‐40km.

5.34

13 Mudflats 642.1 ThisoccursaroundthestreamsandriverbanksandaroundthewaterpoolsinAzraq.ThevegetationdoesnotoccurmuchinJordanbutstillitiscleararoundJordanriver;Yarmukriver;Zarkariver;WadiShuaib,WadiMujeb;WadiAL‐HasaandinAzraqOasis.

1.4

(Source:RSCN,2013)

ThebelowmapdemonstratethedifferentvegetationtypesofJordan:

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(Source:RSCN,2014)

ImportantBirdAreasThe Birdlife IBAs program aims to guide the implementation of national conservationstrategies,throughthepromotionanddevelopmentofnationalprotected‐areaprograms.Itis also intended to assist the conservation activities of international organizations and topromotetheimplementationofglobalagreementsandregionalmeasures.InJordan,theBirdlifepartnerisRSCNsince1995.Throughtheirlongtermscooperation,aregionalassessmentofIBAsincludingJordanwasundertakenandpublishedin1994,andasa result,27 IBAswere identifiedwith theirassociatednumberofbirdspecies.ThebelowtablessummarizethekeyattributesofJordanIBAs:

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(Source:birdlife/RSCN,2014)

RedListSpeciesTheIUCN species conservation program and commission have been assessing theconservationstatusofspecies,subspecies,varieties,andevenselectedsubpopulationsonaglobalscaleforthepast50yearsinordertohighlighttaxathreatenedwithextinction,andinresponsepromotetheirconservationatall levels. Jordanstartedearlyontakingpartofsuchassessment.Thesewereinitiallyrelatedtobirdandanimalspecies.Duringthelastfiveyears or so, national efforts on Red Lists were extended to cover plants as well. Oneimportantdevelopmentinregardtothisnationalprogramisrelatedtothespecializationoforganizations in addressing the different national red lists and their integration into theglobalredlistsofIUCN.TheRoyalBotanicGarden(RBG)hastakentheleadintheclassificationofJordanianplantspeciesandassessingmorethan1,000plantspeciessofar. TheRedListoftheJordanianFlora aims at supporting the creation of conservation strategieswhich, in turn,will helpprotecting Jordan’s plant diversity and will serve as a reference for future studies andmonitoringprograms.Itwillbeupdatedwhenevernewinformationisavailable.TheJordanianNationalPlantRedListassessmenthasfivemainobjectives: Tocontributetonationalconservationplanningthroughprovisionofabaselinedataset

reportingthestatusofJordanianvascularplants. To identify those geographic areas and habitats needing to be conserved to prevent

extinctionsandtoensurethatJordanianvascularplantsreachandmaintainafavorableconservationstatus.

To identify the major threats to plant diversity in Jordan and to propose mitigatingmeasuresandconservationactionstoaddressthem.

Tostrengthenthenetworkofnationalplantexpertsfocusedonconservationofvascularplants in Jordan (and the region) and ensure they have a role in regional andinternational initiatives, so that the assessment information can be kept current, andexpertisecanbetargetedtoaddressthehighestconservationpriorities.

TostrengthentherelationshipbetweennationalandinternationalplantexpertsfocusedonconservationofvascularplantsinJordanandensureactivitiesarefullyintegrated.

Further,theassessmentseekstoachievethreemainoutputs: A summary report on the status and distribution of Jordanian vascular plants, their

mainthreatsandrecommendationsfortheirconservationmeasures.

Totalnumberofbirds 329

Globallythreatenedbirds 10

Landbirds 226

Seabirds 24

Migratory 270

Waterbirds 100

NumberofIBAs 27

NumberofEBAs 1Levantinemountains

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AgratisdatabaseholdingthebaselinedataformonitoringthestatusanddistributionofJordanianvascularplants.

AwebsiteanddataportalshowcasingthesedataintheformofspeciesfactsheetsforallJordanian plants thatwere assessed, alongwith background and other interpretativematerial.

VolumeoneoftheJordanPlantRedDataBookhasbeenprepared.Volumetwo,whichwillincludetheassessmentofallspecies,isbeinginitiatedalongwithastrategytocontinuouslymonitorandupdatedata.A comprehensive bird red list is continuously updated by RSCN through its partnershipwithBirdlifeandothernationalinstitutions,andanewmarinebiodiversityredlistisbeingdevelopedfortheGulfofAqabaunderapartnershipbetweenASEZAandJREDS.ThefollowingtableincludesanextractfromtheIUCNWorldDataBaseforRedListSpeciespresentingnumbersunderthevarioustaxaforJordanandascomparedtosomecountriesfromtheregion.ThetablebelowshowshowJordancomparesstronglywithmanycountriesoftheregioninspiteofitssmallsize.Thisisareflectionofthegeographyandtopographyvariations inadditiontothequalityandquantityofscientificresearchundertakenoveralongperiodoftime.Country Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians Fishes Mollusks Other

invert.Plants Total

Jordan 13 8 6 0 12 5 55 1 100Iraq 14 14 3 1 17 1 16 1 67Lebanon 10 8 7 0 20 8 6 2 61Oman 10 8 8 0 25 2 29 6 88Palestine 3 8 4 1 0 2 2 0 20SaudiArabia

10 13 3 0 24 1 58 3 112

Yemen 9 12 6 1 24 2 66 162 282(Source:IUCNRed‐listdatabase2014)WetlandsTheConventiononWetlandswhichwasconvened in1971 inRamsar, Iran–knownas the"RamsarConvention"whichisanintergovernmentaltreatythatembodiesthecommitmentsof its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands ofInternational Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or sustainable use, of all of thewetlandsintheirterritories.TheConventiononWetlandscameintoforceforJordanon10May1977.Jordanpresentlyhas one site designated as aWetland of International Importance,with a surface area of7,372hectares.JordanRamsarsiteistheAzraqOasisandQa’a,inscribedonthelistinJuly1990. Azraq is formerly a permanent, spring‐fed wetland and extensive (6,127ha)seasonally‐flooded mudflat of a large drainage basin. Under natural conditions, the lushoasis supported reed and sedge communities restricted to Azraq Oasis. It is a valuablestaging area for migrating birds and serves as an important water supply for localcommunities,aswellasoneof themainwatersources for thecapitalcity,Amman.Azraq

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suffers from unsustainable groundwater extraction which led to the almost completedesiccationofthesite.Thissitehasbeenalmosttotallydestroyedexceptfromverylimitedpartwhichismanuallyfedbywatertomaintainthisecosystem.Thisdestructionwasresultedfromseverewaterabstraction that exceeds many fold of its annual recharge. Accordingly, within the lasttwentyyears,atleast50%oftheplantbiodiversityrecordedin1995surveyhasbeenlost.Among these lost species are very rare and endemic species that donot occur anywhereelse inJordan.ArehabilitationprogramhasbeenimplementedforAzraqsincemid‐1990sincludingtheestablishmentoftheAzraqWetlandReserve(around10%oftheRamsarsite)byRSCN in cooperationwith theMoEnv,MoWIand internationaldonoragencies such asGEF,WorldBankandGIZ.ForestsJordanhas limited forest resourceswith less than1.5%of thecountrybeingclassifiedasforests. Of this forest land, only 26%have forest coverwith a canopy density of 10%ormoreandtherestismostlycomposedoflandsparselycoveredwithvegetation.The forests in Jordan, especially natural forests, are fragmented, open in density, slowgrowing,ofdegradedconditionsand,thus,oflowcommercialvalue.Commercialforestsareonlyexpected in areasreceivingmore than400mmofprecipitationannually.Such landsconstituteonly9%of the total forestlands.Afforestationactivitiescanbe implemented inareasreceivingmorethan250mm/yearwhichconstitute8.3%ofthetotalforestland.TheforestvegetationinJordancanbedividedintothefollowingcategories:Natural forests thatarecomposedofevergreenshrubs,pineand juniper forestaswellasbroadleaf forests. Artificial or man‐made forests, areas are afforested artificially by theForestryDepartmentsincethe1950s.The afforested areas are found in all registered forest land in Jordan. They are plantedmostlywithPinushalepensisandAcaciasaligna.Thesurvivalratevariesfrom0to75%.Bare forest lands,areas registeredas forest land in thenameof thegovernment treasurybutbeingpresentlybareofforestcover.Theyarecharacterizedbyroughtopography,poorsiteconditions,soilerosionhazards,overgrazingoroverharvesting.Unsettled forest areas, areas covered completely or partially by forest trees, but still un‐surveyedorunregistered.Thetotalareaofunregisteredforestareaisestimatedat12,200ha. These areas are in principle governmental land at the disposition of the forestryadministration.Roadside plantations cover about 2,500 km of roadsides. Trees planted along the roadsbelongtothegovernmentandaremanagedbytheForestryDepartment.All these aregovernment forests either registered in thenameof the JordangovernmentTreasuryasforestlandordeclaredasforestlandaccordingtothe1973AgriculturalLawno.20andtothe1974GovernmentpropertyownedmanagementLawno.17.

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PrivateForestsareregisteredinthenameoftheirprivateownersandarefoundmostlyinthenorthernpartofJordanwherehigherrainfallisprevailing.Theyincludenaturalforestvegetation and tree plantations on farms, in the form of windbreaks and shelter‐belts.Privateforestsaccountforlessthan4%ofthetotaldeclaredforestland.

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1:3SocioeconomicandCulturalValuesofBiodiversityItiswellacceptedthatbiodiversityiscrucialforbiotechnology,pharmaceuticalindustries,food security including fisheries, nevertheless, there is very little established andscientificallyconfirmedargumentforthecaseofbiodiversityinJordan.Forests for example, and because if their limited commercial value in Jordan, aremostlyvalued for their contribution to soil conservation, watershed management, aestheticpurposes, biodiversity conservation and limited supply of firewood and animal feed Theecological and social functions of forest are thus of great importance in Jordan and takeprecedence over wood production and other products. Forest environment provides ahabitat for a greatdiversityofplant andanimal species and represents the largest singlestoreofbiodiversity.Jordandoesnotpossessaforestindustryassuchwiththeexceptionofa limited secondary industry producing furniture and fruit boxes. Most of Jordan’srequirementsinforestproductsareimported.Onanotherfront,tourismisofvitalimportancetothenationaleconomyofJordan.ItistheKingdom’slargestexportsector,itssecondlargestprivatesectoremployer,andit’ssecondhighest producer of foreign exchange. Tourism contributes more than $800 million toJordan’seconomyandaccountsforapproximately10%ofthecountry’sGDP.Today,Jordanisdevelopingparalleltheglobaltourismindustrytrendbyhavingthehighestgrowthrateinecotourism,naturebasedandresponsibletourismsubsectorwithanestimatedrateof10%per annum. In addition to the country’s political stability, the geography offered makesJordananattractivetourismdestination.Jordan’s major tourist activities include ancient places including Petra, its unique desertcastles and well preserved natural locations to its cultural and religious sites. ProtectedAreas have become a substantial proportion of today’s tourism totally more than half amillionvisitors.Naturebasedrevenuespayformorethanonethirdoftherunningcostsoftheprotectedareasnetwork.Thelattertwonumbersreflectatremendouspositiveimpactof responsible tourism on the socioeconomic development of local communities and thegeneralpublic.Furthermore,medicinalplantsarean important elementof traditional systems in Jordan.These resources are usually regarded as part of a culture's traditional knowledge. Manyresearch studies collected information from local populations concerning the use ofmedicinal plants of the various regions of the country; identify the most importantmedicinalplantsused; anddetermine the relative importanceof the species surveyed forlocal livelihoodsandeconomies.Togiveademonstrationof such importance,NCAREhasdocumentedmorethan100edible‐wildplantswhichareutilizedby localcommunitiesasfood, salad, spices and traditional medicine such as Arum spp., Eruca sativa, Cichoriumpumilum, Gundelia tournefortii, Asparagus spp., Cyclamen persicum, Artemisia spp., andThymus spp.. Jordanian scientists focus on the importance of these germplasm and havepublishednumerouspublicationsonthisfield.Anotherexamplecouldbegivenontheassessmentofculturalvaluesofprotectedareas.AgoodcasecomesfromAzraqareawhich isadestinationforpeoplesettlementsinceearly1900s,whereChichansandDruzearrivedtoAzraqafterbeingmigratedfromtheircountryof origin. Chicahns and Druze, in addition to the few mobile nomadic, created a mosaicsociety of different cultural backgrounds. Their neighborhood to thewetland has shaped

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their livelihood, where Chichan depending on their livestock brought originally fromQuqasia,whileDruze start utilizing thenatural resources representedby saltproduction,hunting,andfishing.Originalnomadiccontinuetheirregularlivelihoodpatterns.Theconservationofwetland’svalueswasstronglyfacilitatedbecauseitculturallylinkedtothelocalcommunity’svalues.Conservingarepresentativesampleofwhatwasthewetlandraisetheappreciationbylocalcommunitiesforconservationefforts,eventheyaresharingthe wetland with their domestic water, and their accesses to the remains of naturalresourcesbecomeslimited.Thisappreciationwasdevelopedbecausethe“lessthan10%”oftherestoredwetlands,isdemonstratingtheculturalvaluesofthiswetlandwithallofitsbiodiversityandnaturalresourcescontents.Theassessmentofthesocioeconomicvaluesofbiodiversityremainsabigknowledgegapinthe Jordan context. It require much more systemic attention as it could serve as a veryimportanttooladvisingpolicyanddecisionmakinginregardtotheadoptionofuptodatemethodologiesandtools for thenaturalresourcesmanagementstrategytobecomebetterbasedontheintegratedecosystemsapproaches,principlesandbestpractices.

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Section2:ChangestoBiodiversitysincetheForthNationalReport

2:1TerrestrialFloraThefloraofJordanconstitutesaveryimportantcomponentofJordan’sbiologicaldiversity.ConservationofsuchanationalresourcetoensuresustainabilityanddevelopmentislistedhighontheprioritiesofJordantoconservesuchavaluableresource.FloweringPlants:Asmentionedearlier inthereport, Jordanplantdiversity isremarkablyhighconsideringitssizeandaridity.ThetotalnumberofrecordedvascularplantspeciesinJordanisnowover2,622speciesbelongingto113familiesandaround810genera.Atleast100speciesofendemicplants isnowconfirmed for Jordancomprisingabout2.5%of thetotal species recorded, including species of the genus Crocus, Colchicum, Iris andVerbascum,while375arerareorveryrare,includingspeciesofthegenusOrchis,Romulea,BiarumandGlobularia,formingabout14%ofthetotalfloraofJordan.Morethan70speciesareconsideredextinct.Gymnosperms:Although,thetotalnumberofgymnospermsdoesnotexceedthreespecies,theyconfirmsomeofthemostimportantforestecosystemsinJordan,especiallytheAleppopine forest (Pinus halepensis) in Northern Jordan and the Phoenician Juniper (Juniperusphoenica) in the South. The Juniper and Cupressus species are considered threatenedspeciesduetothehumanimpactontheirnaturalhabitat.Pteridophyta:ThetotalnumberoffernsinJordanisestimatedtorangefrom5‐10species.Thestatusanddistributionofthesespeciesisnotwellknown.Bryophytes:FewstudiesweremadeonthebryophytesofJordan.About150specieshavebeenrecordedsofar.Informationrelatedtotheirdistributionisnotwellknown.Lichens:Anestimatednumberofabout150speciesoflichenhavebeenrecorded.Completeandextensivesurveysandspecificstudieshavenotbeencarriedoutsofar.

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2:2TerrestrialFaunaAccordingtotheIUCNRedList(2014),Jordanhas103globallythreatenedspeciesoffauna.Theproportionofthreatenedspeciestothetotalnumberofspeciesisveryhigh,especiallyfor mammals, where 13 out of 83mammals 15.6% are considered globally threatened.Jordan's location by the Great Rift Valley makes the country one of the most importantflyways and resting points for migratory birds in the spring and autumn. Hundreds ofthousandsofbirdscrosstheareayearly,someofwhichareglobally.In addition tomammals, a total of 106 species of reptiles occurred in Jordanwhere 6 ofthem are threatened. The high number of birds 436 is expected because of the Jordan’slocationalong themigratory routebetweenEurasia andAfrica.The invertebrate faunaofJordanisuniqueinmanyaspectssinceitscompositionisamixtureofseveralfaunalorigins,but due to lack of comprehensive research, the exact number of invertebrate species isunknown.Several assessments published tackled Jordan’s fauna on the national, regional andinternationallevel.MammalswereassessedintheMediterraneanregionincludingspeciesfrom Jordan where a single species was listed as a critically endangered; Gazellasubgutturosa.Inaddition,twospeciesareendangeredandeightarevulnerable.Moreover,several assessments from the Arabian Peninsula were published including snakes, birds,reptiles,andcarnivores.Belowisthetableofmajorgroupswithexamplesofthespecies:No Category Totalspecies Noofredlist

speciesKeyspecies

1 Mammals 83 8 CapraNubiana,G.subgutturosa,Gazellagazella,Oryxleucoryx,Myotiscapaccinii,

2 Reptiles 107 6 Varanusgriseus,Uromastuxaegyptia,Testudograeca,Chalcidesguentheri,Telescopus hoogstraali

3 Amphibians 3 0 Hylasavignyi4 Birds 436 8 Acuilaheliaca,Geroticuseremita,

Neophronpercnopterus,Serinussyriacus,Torgostracheliotos

5 Freshwaterfish

15 3 AphaniussirhaniGarraghorensisAphaniusrichardsoni

(Source:IUCNredlist,2014)

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2:3MarineandFreshwaterBiodiversityTheJordaniancoastlinecoversabout27kmatthenortherntipoftheGulfofAqaba,whichextendsforabout180kmfromtheJordanianshoreinthenorthtotheStraitofTiraninthesouth.Ithasanaveragewidthof20kmandanaveragedepthof800m.TheGulfofAqabaconsists of a series of embayments, each including comparatively similar communitiesincluding:rockyshore,reefflat,reefface,forereef,sandyshore,sandybottomandseagrassecosystems.There is adiscontinuous series of coral reefs and reef flats, nevermore than150mwide,overalengthof13km.TheGulfofAqaba’sglobalimportancestemsfromitsgeographicallocation,asitistheonlyinland connection between Africa and Eurasia. Themarine environmentmaintainsmorethan510marine fish species,5%ofwhichareendemic. It is estimated that there are25endemic speciesof fish occurringonly in theRedSea, and these areprofoundly found inreefs of theGulf ofAqaba. Includedhere is the Indo‐PacificHumpheadWrasse (Cheilinusundulates)which is listedby IUCNas endangered, and three speciesof theMarineTurtle(Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, and Eretmochelys imbricate) which are globallyendangered.Therearealsospeciesofhigheconomicvalue,includingtunaandsardine.Coral and Reef Fish: The Gulf of Aqaba sustains about 270 species of coral. In terms ofrelativeabundanceonJordanianreefs,thefivemostabundantfishspeciesare:Pseudanthiassquamipinnis, Chromis viridis, Dascyllus aruanus, Paracheilinus octotaenia, and Dascyllusmarginatus.Seagrass:Seagrassmeadowsformthebulkofthebiomassuponwhichotherorganismsinthe benthic community depend, and are globally accepted as a good indicator of waterquality. At least 3 species of seagrass occur here: includingHalodu leuninervis,Halophilaovalis,andHalophilastipulacea.BacteriaandPhytoplankton:Bacterial andpico‐phytoplanktonbiodiversitysurveys in theGulfofAqabaareveryrare,duetothelackofinfrastructureandhumancapacity.However,in 2014, Aqaba witnessed the commissioning of the first marine microbiology andmolecular biology laboratory at the University of Jordan Aqaba Branch, Laboratory forMolecularMarineEcology (LaMME).The first setofDNAbarcoding formarine life in theGulf of Aqaba will be presented during the Aqaba International Conference on MarineSciencesandEnvironmentin2014.Zooplankton:Atotalof82speciesofdifferentmesozooplanktongroupsandlarvalstagesofvariousotherorganismshavebeenidentified.Copepodsare,byfar,themostabundantandubiquitous mesozooplankton organisms. The seasonal and spatial distribution ofmesozooplankton in theGulfofAqabahas implications for fishing,ecosystemhealth, asabaselinetogaugeimpactsforfuturedevelopmentsalongtheJordaniancoast,andtopredictthemostpollutedsitewithinthecoastalstations.Freshwater diversity: The freshwater fish fauna of Jordan is very characteristic. It wasformed from fivedifferent faunalorigins; thePalaearctic, Indoasiatic,Afrotropical,TethysrelictandMediterranean.Thisuniquenessattractedichthyologistsandbiologistsalreadyinthe18thand19thcenturytosurveytheareaofJordanbasinandYarmoukbasin.Atotalof15speciesoffreshwaterfishbelongingtosixfamiliesandrepresentedin12generahave

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been recorded in Jordan. All of these species are primarily fresh water fish except thecyprinodontidandcichlidfishesthatareconsideredassecondaryfreshwaterfish.TherearethreeendemicfreshwaterfishesinJordan,oneofwhichAphaniussirhaniisonlyfound in Azraq and nor where else, while the other two Garra ghorensis and AphaniusrichardsoniarefoundintheDeadSeabasin.ThefirsttwospeciesA.sirhaniandG.ghorensisareidentifiedascriticallyendangeredatthegloballevel,whichpromotetheirconservation.AdetailedstudywascarriedonbothspeciesabouttheirlifehistorytraitswereofgreathelptobuildthosespeciesconservationplaninAzraqandDeadSeabasinrespectively.

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2:4GeneticBiodiversityThenationaleffortsongeneticresourcesinJordanarefocusedonplantresourcesastheyform the priority for national food security and human wellbeing. This focus is alsoaccompanied with the presence of a specialized national center in the field, namely, theNationalCentreforAgriculturalResearchandExtension(NCARE).Manyoftheplantspeciesin Jordan are adapted to desert areas. Therefore, these types of species are of extremeimportance as a primary vegetation element due to their use as food for humans andanimals; and for other uses including:medicinal, soil fixing, nitrogen fixing, asparents ofcultivated species; and as disease, drought and saline resistant plants. Plant geneticresources of Jordan are a national and international heritage; these resources should beconserved and utilized for the benefit of humanity. Individual efforts have led to thecollection,conservation,evaluationandutilizationofasizablepartoftheseresources.Jordanharborsavastdiversityoflandraces,oldcultivars,wildspeciesandwildrelativesofwheat and barley. For example, there is the cultivated durum (Triticum durum), thecultivated bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), the old wheat (T. monoccocum), the wildeinkorn (T. beoticum, poulard wheat), the (T. turgidum wild relatives (T. dicoccoides, T.UrartuandAgliopsspp.), thecultivatedtwoandsix‐rowbarleyand the landracesoldandimproved cultivars (Hordeum vulgare), andwild barley (Hordeum spontaneum and otherspecies).ComprehensiveevaluationshavebeencarriedoutontheTriticumspp. in Jordan.Triticumdicoccoides is confirmed resistance to drought and diseases of Septoria blotch, commonbunt,yellowrust,stemrustandbarleyyellowdwarfvirus.ProteincontentofT.dicoccoideswasfoundtobehigherthanthecultivatedwheatvarietiesrangingfrom13%‐27%.Further,accessions ofT.dicoecum represent important genetic characters such as earliness, shortstem,highnumberoffertiletillers,longspikes,kernelweightperspike,proteincontentanddroughttolerance.WildrelativesoffruittreesarefoundinJordaninthehighlandsfromthenorthtothesouthand in the west. These include Ceratonia siliqua, Ziziphus lotus, Ziziphus spina‐christi,Caratagus aronia, Prunus mahaleb, Pistacia spp., Ficus palmata and Olea europaea. TenaccessionsofPrunushavebeencollectedsincetheearly1990s.Thesespeciesandgenerahave adapted to harsh conditions including extremes in temperatures coupled withextended drought and low soil fertility. They are excellent resources for future researchafter identification of rootstocks like dwarfism, drought and calcareous soil tolerance.MedicinalplantsarewidelydistributedinJordanandaremassivelyusedbylocalpeopleinfolkmedicineashotorcolddrinks,andaschewedfreshordryrawmaterials.Manyplantsareundercollectionpressuretobeusedfordomesticuseandgrazing,orforhousing and industrial projects (such as projects that package and market wild andmedicinalplants).Speciescollectedinclude:Artemisia,Achilla,Salvia,Paronychia,Ecballium,Ephedra, Ajuga, Marrubium, Origanum, Alcea, Thymus, Sarcopoterium, Hyoscyamus, andmany others. Many of these plants are endemic such as: Iris nigricans, Cousinia dayia,Plantagomaris‐mortui,Crucianellatransjordanica,Scrophularianababeorum,SilenehussoniiandTamarixarvensis.Collectionoftenoccursinareasknowforbeautyandrichnessofflora,andiscausingseriousthreatstonaturalhabitats.

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Finally, Jordanherbaria include thoseat JordanandYarmoukUniversities (whichare thelargestwith 60,000 and 20,000 specimens respectively), and the Royal Botanical GardenhaslaunchedavirtualherbariumTheNationalVirtualHerbarium(NVH)waslaunchedonJanuary12,2012,toallowonlineconsultationofspecimensfromallofJordan'sherbaria.SpecimensarenowavailableonscreenattheNVH,andspecimenswillcontinuetobeaddeduntiltheentirefloraof Jordan isrepresented. ThemissionoftheNationalHerbariumattheRoyalBotanicGardenistoprovideinstitutions,scientists,studentsandotherinterestedparties with a collection of high‐quality herbarium specimens for all the flora of Jordan.TheNational Herbarium of Jordanwill preserve important native specimens andrelevantmaterial,andmakethespecimensavailablethroughoutthecountry.

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2:5theNationalProtectedAreasNetworkIn 1979, Jordan – in cooperation with IUCN and WWF – undertook the first nationalassessment for its biodiversity hotspots to be proposed as a national system plan forprotected areas. The later on known as the Clark report, in commemoration of the leadauthorofthereportDr.JohnClark.Thereportrepresentedthenationalframeworkfortheinsituconservationofbiologicaldiversity.Twelvesiteswereproposedinthereportwhichwas reviewedby theRoyal Society for theConservationofNature (RSCN) in cooperationwiththeMinistryofEnvironment in2008‐2009to include16sites.Today, thenumberofprotectedareasestablishedis10withatotalsurfaceareaof1,443.5sqkm.RSCN is responsible for managing nature reserves in Jordan under a mandate from theGovernment of Jordan. Since 1966, the RSCN has been working towards establishing anetworkofprotectedareas.ThefollowingistheupdateonthenewlyestablishedprotectedareassincetheforthCBDreportin2009:YarmoukForestReserveYarmoukwasfirstproposedin1998byRSCN’sreviewoftheprotectedareanetwork,sinceitrepresentsthelaststrongholdofthedeciduousoakQuercusaegilops,thenationaltreeofJordan.Thereservewasestablishedin2010overanareaof20.5sqkm,coveringaseriesofhillsoverlookingYarmoukRiver.Of theroughly100birdspeciesrecorded in thereserve,severalgloballythreatenedbirdsofpreyandlargemigrantshavebeenrecordedmigratingover the reserve and along the Yarmouk Valley which is considered to be an important‘sidetrack’leadingtothemajorflywayoftheRiftValley.FifaProtectedAreaFifawasfirstproposedin1998bytheRSCNinordertorepresentandconservethesalinevegetation in the country. The reserve was established in 2011 by the RSCN within theSudanianbio‐geographicalzone.Itissituatedoveranareaof26sqkmcoveringWadiFifaand the Tamarix dominated saline vegetation. Fifa is located in the middle between thesoutherntipsoftheDeadSeaandthebeginningofthedesertofWadiAraba.Inadditiontoitsimportanceforwinteringpasserines,thereserveisbecomingincreasinglyimportantasoneofthefewremainingnaturalbreedinghabitatsofDeadSeaSparrowPassermoabiticus.QatarprotectedAreaQatarwas first proposed in 1998 by RSCN’s review of protected areas. The reservewasestablishedin2011representingtheSudanianbio‐geographicalzone.Itissituatedoveranarea of 110 sq km andwas established to conserve a representative sample of the hillygroundcoveredwithHamadasoiltypehostingthehighestdensityofAcaciawoodlandsinJordanThe reserve is locatedalong the JordanRiftValley justnorthofAqaba.ThedenseAcaciatreesareamajorspotformigratorypasserinesthatusetheareaforroostingandasa stopover site before they continue their migration journey. This protected area facesmajor challenges related to the activation of its management program due to localcommunity opposition. It is established that Qatar is considered by RSCN a paper parkwhichneedtobeaddressedstrategicallyinthenearfuturewithsupportoftheministryofenvironmentwithothernationalstakeholderssupport.

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Thefollowingtableillustratesthenationalprogressmadeontheestablishmentofprotectedareasasidentifiedbythe2009nationalprotectedareasnetworkreport:No NameofPA Dateofestablishment Area(km2)1 ShoumariWildlifeReserve 1975 212 AzraqWetlandReserve 1978 123 MujebBiosphereReserve 1985 2124 AjlounForestReserve 1987 125 DanaBiosphereReserve 1989 2926 WadiRumWorldHeritageSite 1997 7297 AqabaMarinePark 1997 2.58 DibbinForestReserve 2004 8.59 YarmoukForestReserve 2010 2110 QatarNatureReserve 2011 11011 FifaNatureReserve 2011 26

Total 1,420It is important to report that several changeswere introduced to the national protectedareasnetwork including the removalofMasudaprotectedarea, theaddition theShoubakprotectedareaandtheproposalforinclusionofthePetraParkinthenetworkstartingfrom2015. A set of specific technical reports on themain changesmentioned are available atRSCN,MoEnv,andPDTRA.Thesechangesreflectmajordevelopmentsinthenationalandlocalcontextsrelatedtothenetwork in terms of governance arrangements, local stakeholder involvement, site levelimpacts, all calling for national consideration of a second review of the network startingpossiblyin2015.TheMapbelowdemonstrates theprotectedareasof Jordan including theestablishedandproposedones:

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(Source:RSCN,2014)

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Section3:MainThreatstoBiodiversity

3:1AnalysisofDirectandIndirectDriversofBiodiversityLossNatural terrestrial and aquatic habitats in Jordan have been lost, affecting the faunalcompositionoftheseareas.Biodiversityremainsexposedtoseveralthreatswhichhas ledtoasharpdeclineinmostoftheJordanianfloraandfaunanumbers,includingtheextinctionofseveralspecies.Landdegradation,conversionandurbanizationIncreasing development pressures, combined with population growth, are acceleratinghabitatdegradation, climatechange, species lossand thegeneraldepletionofkeynaturalresources,especiallywateraswellasbiodiversity.Theyarealsoaffectingthelivelihoodsoflocal pastoral and agricultural communities, who now find traditional grazing areas,agricultural lands and hunting areas dissected anddegraded by infrastructure and urbanexpansion.Asaresult,overgrazing,overhuntinganddeforestationarewidespread,addingmorepressureonremainingnaturalareas.Theaboveongoingandoftenacceleratingchallengesreinforcetheneedforimprovedlanduseplanningandmanagementcapacity.Anationallanduseplanwasaclearfocusofseveralnationalpolicies and strategies since the1991NationalEnvironmentStrategy (1991).Allsuccessivestrategiescontinuedtoaddresssuchaneed,however,withlittledetailonwaysofspecificallyintegratingbiodiversityconservationintobroaderlandusestrategies.Despite the above, several progressive land use planning efforts were and are beingimplemented by respective national and regional institutions. This includes the effortsimplemented by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MoMA) on the development of thenationallanduseplanwhichwasconcludedin2006anditsongoingfollowupprogramonthe governorates levels. The initiative includes the development of the natural heritagelayer as one of the foundations for development planning. It has also introduced aspecializedunitattheministryfornaturalheritageplanning,andequippeditwithrequiredinfrastructure and technical competencies. MoMA has been making concrete efforts toinvolve and coordinate the program with relevant ministries including the Ministry ofEnvironment,civilsocietyorganizationsuchasRSCN,andlocalcommunities’organizationsespeciallyatthegovernoratelevel.Otherlanduseplanningandmanagementinitiativesincludethefollowing: The ongoing implementation andmonitoring of the2004 landuseplan of the Jordan

RiftValley, implementedbytheJordanValleyAuthority.This includedthedesignationoftwonewprotectedareasinthevalley,YarmoukandFifaandseveralSCAssuchastheKhyoufSCAinBalqaGovernoratedownstreamoftheKingTalalDam.

TheongoingreviewandimplementationoftheASEZA(2000)landuseandmasterplansbyASEZA.ThisincludesthereviewandupdateofthebufferzonearoundtheWadiRumas a World Heritage Site and a Protected Area with particular focus on biodiversityconservationandsustainabletourismdevelopment.

The ongoing implementation of theDead Seamaster planwhichby theDevelopmentZones Company associated with the Development and Free Zones Commission. This

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includesasetofbiodiversityguidelinesandsafeguardsinadditiontotheestablishmentofaneco‐parkasthebackboneforcoastaldevelopmentandprotection.

The ongoing updates and finalization of the PetraRegion land use plan including thedevelopmentof theheritagebasedbufferzoneandthedeclarationofthePetraWorldHeritageSiteasaNaturalProtectedAreas.

TourismdevelopmentThe tourism sector already poses a major threat to biodiversity, and given the plannedexponentialgrowthofthesector,thisthreatisexpectedtogrowsignificantly.AlthoughfewofJordan’scurrentvisitorsarenaturetouristsperse,touristsdovisitprotectedareasandhigh biodiversity areas. Biodiversity is being threatened by mass tourism across thelandscape as awhole, and the tourism footprint onbiodiversity is expected togrowovertime. Threats posed by tourism may be divided into two categories: direct threats andindirectthreats.Theprimedirectthreatsfromtourismactivitiestobiodiversityarethefollowing:Hotel and tourism infrastructure development: Development of hotels and other tourisminfrastructureinecologicallysensitiveareasleadingtofragmentationandlossofhabitat.High visitor numbers: High visitor numbers leads to disturbance of habitats. Visitors’activities have exerted extensive pressure on biodiversity from trampling, hunting, plantcollection,uncontrolledtrekkingandclimbing,etc.Effluent discharges: Effluent discharges, litter accumulation and extensive abstraction ofwaterhavehadanimpactonanimalbehaviorandalsoresult intheaccumulationoftoxiccompounds in the ecosystem, in addition to threatening the biodiversity of importanthabitats.Theindirectthreatsfromtourismonbiodiversityinclude:Roads development: Roads provide easy access to ecologically important areas. Unlessplanned to incorporate biodiversity values, this could have the inadvertent effect ofincreasingotherthreats(e.g.poaching).Encroachment by local population: Local populations encroach on natural resources andpractice intensive resource use to support their livelihood needs. A further increase inagriculture and pastoralist activities is expected as the local populationwill aim tomeetincreased demand for food produce from tourism establishments, causing additionalpressureonbiodiversityfromovergrazing,lossofthevegetationcover,wood‐cutting,etcClimatechangeThere is “veryhighconfidence”(as laiddownby the IPCC) that climatechange isalreadyaffectinglivingsystems.Theresponsesofbothfaunaandfloraspananarrayofecosystemsandorganizationalhierarchies, fromthespeciestothecommunitylevels.Recentscientificresearch on global meta‐analyses revealed significant range shifts averaging 6.1 km perdecadetowardthepoles(ormetersupward),andsignificantmeanadvancementofspring

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eventsby2.3daysperdecade.Jordanisvulnerabletoclimatechange,andsomefeaturesofprojected climate change in Jordan include: (i) increase in temperature of 1‐2 degreescentigrade by 2030‐2050; (ii) increase in evaporation accompanied by soil moisturereduction; (iii) diminished recharge of aquifers and oases, (iv) projected shrinkage ofgrasslands (which extend over 10% of Jordan); and (v) projected shift of semi‐aridrangeland (which extend over 80% of Jordan) to become arid desert. Improved andcontinued conservation planning andmanagement in Jordan; based on an assessment ofclimatechangeimplicationsonbiodiversityisbothprudentandanecessity.HabitatDegradationandDestructionUncontrolled urban expansion occurs in the form of deforestation and transformation offorestsintoagriculturalandurbanizedareas,duetotheincreaseofJordan’spopulationandindustrial development. Overgrazing and extensive woodcutting, in addition to intensiveagriculturalpractices,aremajor threats towildlife in Jordanas theyresult insoilerosionanddestructionofnaturalhabitats.Unplannedminingandquarryingareleadingtofurtherhabitatdestruction.Uncontrolledvehiclemovementhasledtohabitatdestructionandhascauseddisturbanceto mating areas of migratory species, decreasing successful breeding and number ofmigratorybirdsvisitingJordan.Unbalanced water use and unplanned water extraction from surface and undergroundwater resources threatenmanyareasof Jordanand consequently, thehabitats andmicroecosystemsofbothanimalsandplants.Pollutionofsurfaceandundergroundwaterresourcesandaquifersduetoagro‐chemicals,sewage discharge and solid waste disposal causes further threat to the presence andreproductionofmanyfaunalspecies.PersecutionofWildlife,TradeandSpreadofDiseaseIllegal hunting has caused the extinction of several species of Jordanian wildlife, and isconsideredtobeoneofthemainfactorsthreateningfaunalbiodiversityinthecountry.Theimpactofthisthreatfurtherincreasedaftertheintroductionofmodernhuntingtechniques.Illegal trade of native species directly affects faunal populations. Additionally, the illegaldisseminationofnon‐nativespeciescausesseverestressonsomespeciesandisathreattotheirpresence.Little is known about the status and transmission of diseases inwild animals. Increasedcontactwithwildlifehas lead to the transmissionofsomediseases from livestock towildanimals and vice‐versa, either through direct contact or predation. Further, several wildanimalspecies in Jordanare thought tobevectorsorreservoirs forsomediseases.Thesediseases may affect both humans and wild fauna and could be a real threat to thedistributionandrelativeabundanceofcertainspecies.InvasionofAlienandExoticSpecies

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Introduction of alien species is a major threat to native animal and plant species. Alienspeciesandinvasiveexoticscanbecomepestsbyadaptingtohabitatchangesandcausingdestruction to natural habitats and agricultural areas. On the other hand, feral species,which invadedthecountry longago,mightaffect theirwildrelatives throughcompetitionandinterbreeding.WeakEnforcementofLawsWeakenforcementoflawsisaperennialissue,despitethefactthattherehasbeenagreatimprovementwiththedesignationofProtectedAreas(allforms)inrecentyearsasaresultofcapacitybuildingatthenationalandlocal levels.Theproblemofenforcementismainlyrelatedtotheineffectiveapplicationofthebylawsandregulationsbythejuridicalsystems.This is often justified in recent years by the argument related to the sensitive regionalpolitical conditionswhichrequireamore lenientapproach to lawenforcement ingeneralandtotheenforcementofenvironmentlawsinparticular.TheIssueofRefugeesMore than one million Syrian refugees have entered Jordan during the last three years.Theyescapedthecrisisintheircountry,leavingbehindtheirlivelihoodsandmostoftheirresources.ThemajorityoftheserefugeeswereintegratedintotheJordaniansociety,whileasubstantialnumberremainedindesignatedrefugeecampssuchastheZaataricampintheMafraqarea.ThenortherngovernoratesofJordanhavereceivedthemajorityoftherefugeepopulations,withasignificantpercentagedistributedinthenorthernpartsoftheRiftValleyarea.Morespecifically,thisincludesthewesternpartsofthegovernoratesofIrbid,Mafraq,Ajloun,Jerash,andBalqa.Itisnotaneasytasktoassessorquantifythespecificimpactsoftherefugeesonthevariousnaturalresourcesandecosystems in thehostregions,nonetheless, someof these impactsare easier to estimate than others. These impacts include pressures exerted on waterresources,agriculturalareas,rangelands,andopenspaces.Inthecaseoftherefugeecamps,mostoftheimpactonnaturalresourcesisrepresentedbywateruse(mostlyfordomesticpurposes). Asconfinedterritories,thecampshavelimitedimpactonrangelandandothernatural resources, especiallynoting that theyaremainly supported through internationalsubsidiesfortheprovisionoffoodandotherecosystem‐relatedgoodsandservices.Thecasefortherefugeesoutsidethedesignatedcampsismuchmorecomplextoassessinregard to interaction with ecosystems and their associated biodiversity. Nonetheless,evidencecouldbeestablishedonanumberofassociationsbetweenthe influxofrefugeesandtheimpactsonnaturalresources.Forexample,manyrefugeeswhocomefromnomadicor rural backgrounds got involved with livestock husbandry and agricultural activities,mainlythroughemploymentbyJordanianresidentswhoutilizedtherefugeeworkforcetosupporttheiragriculturerelatedactivities,aswellastheoperationoftourismenterprises.It could also be noted that the skilled labor introduced by the refugees created anopportunitytoimprovethequalityofservicesrelatedtoagriculture,livestock,andtourism.Consequently,thiswouldalsomeanincreasingpressuresonecosystemgoodsandservicesin addition to increasing the demand on consumption associated with the directsocioeconomicneedsoftherefugeesthemselves.

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From another point of view, the influx of refugees has increased competition with hostcommunities on a large set of income sources and jobs. Further, the wave of refugeescaused a sudden increase in the cost of services and real estate which impacted thepurchasingpowerofhostJordaniancommunities,thusforcingthemtoexercisemoredirectandindirectpressuresonnaturalresources. Oneclearexample is the increasingtrendofillegal tree cutting to compensate for increased fuel prices, overgrazing of livestock inresponsetoinabilitytosecurehighcostfodder,andillegalwildlifehuntingasareflectionofreducedabilitytoprocuredomesticatedsourcesofmeatsuchaschickenandlamb.TheeconomicvaluationofthedirectandindirectimpactsoftherefugeesontheecosystemsofhostregionsofJordanrequiresanin‐depthscientificresearchwhichwouldleadtoaclearpolicy document needed to support decision making in regard to the sustainability ofecosystems, theirgoodsandservices,aswellas theirbiodiversity,undercrisisconditionssuchastheSyrianrefugeecase.

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Section4:ImpactsofBiodiversityChanges(Loss)onEcosystemsandHumanWellbeing

4:1SynthesisoftheEconomicValuationofEcosystemsAlthougheasilyrecognizable,theeconomicandsocialvaluesofbiodiversityhavenotbeenwelldocumentedorutilizedininformingpolicyanddevelopmentagendasinJordan.Thereare several good examples and attempts to assess the value of ecosystems services andgoods. These include the several national and regional studies undertaken for the watersector in particular or the impact of the environmental degradation on the nationaleconomy.Thesewereuseful indevelopingsoundknowledge,scenariobuilding, informingdecision making and reforming policy. The case cannot be described to be the same inregardtovaluatingbiodiversityasanecosystemgoodwithitsassociatedservices.Despite the above, few site based studies addressed the economic valuation of protectedareas through focusing on tourism as an ecosystem service based fundamentally onbiodiversity values and their associated natural and cultural values. One of the cases inquestionwasdevelopedbyRSCN in2011,using theassessmentof twoexistingprotectedareas,namelyDanaandAjlounPAsandcomparedthemtotwoprotectedareaswhichwereproposedforestablishment,theMasudaandYarmoukPA(MasudaPAwasomittedfromtheNational PA network. The following includes a brief description of this model case ofeconomic evaluation of biodiversity, ecosystems services on which a more systematicnationalprogramcouldbedevelopedto informeffectivedecisionmaking inregardtothenationalsustainabledevelopmentagenda.In 2012, RSCN in cooperation with the MoEnv commissioned a strategic pilot studyvaluation of the ecosystem services for two prime protected areas of Dana and AjlounProtectedAreasinJordan.ThisassignmentrepresentedastrategicdecisionbytheRSCN,inlight of the decreasing level of support and understanding of various national and localagenciesandgroupstothebenefitsandfunctionsofecosystemservicesasrepresentedbytheprotectedareas,topro‐activelyattempttoprovideavaluationoftheseservices.Theareas inwhichthevaluationstookplacewere(i)AjlounWoodlandReserve(withtheYarmouk reserve for further application) and (ii) Dana Biosphere Reserve (with theplannedMasudaorShoubakreserves for furtherapplication).After reviewof thevariousmethodologies available for valuation of ecosystem services, the Surrogate MarketApproacheswereselectedtobethemostrelevantandviableoneswithinthescopeoftimeandcapacityavailable.Thetotalvaluefortheyear2010forAjlounWoodlandReservewascalculated tobe305,373.47 JD.The total value for the year2010 for theDanaBiosphereReservewascalculatedtobe1,724,497.65JD.ThevalueforAjlounseemedlowasastand‐alonefigure.Nonetheless,itisimportanttorememberthatthesevaluesarejustasmallpartofthetotalmonetaryandnon‐monetaryvaluesoftheprotectedareas.ThevalueforDanawasmorerobust,aswouldbeexpectedforamuchlargerreserve.In general terms it is important to note that the figures generated in this report onlyrepresentapartialvalueoftheecosystems.Usingthevaluesinthisreport,amoredetailedvaluation of some of the other protected areas (all forms) remains needed, mainly tohighlighttheecosystemfunctionsprovidedbytheseareasandtheirassociationwithlocallivelihoodsandhumanwellbeing.

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4:2ImpactsofBiodiversityLossonEcosystemServicesandHumanwellbeingThe impacts of biodiversity loss on the ecosystem services and human wellbeing areexpected enormous, nonetheless, very few systematic studies have been undertaken toevaluate them and direct them to inform policies, strategies, legislations and financingpriorities.Thedestructionofhabitatsthroughovergrazingforexampleresults inseveresoilerosionand leads to detrimental and often irreversible impacts on the ecosystems ability tomaintainthewatershedandtheirconveyancefunctionsaswellthesoilcapacitytosupporttheplantgerminationandregeneration.Averyclearexample isseenalloverthecountrywithintheIrano‐Turanianregionwhichsuffers fromlowrainfall levels,extremelevelsoflivestock grazing, very weak or even absent land use planning, management and lawenforcement.Asconsequence,the localcommunitiesdependingonsuchresourcesenduplosingasignificantpartoftheirsourcesofincomederiveddirectlyfromecosystemsgoodsandservices.Several national initiatives and programs address the various elements of assessing theimpacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystems services and humanwellbeing. The followingincludesabriefdescriptionoffiveoftheseinitiatives:Thenationalenvironmentalcompensationprogram:theBadiaRestorationProgramThe Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Council awarded Jordan in2005totalofUS$160,582,073incompensationfortherehabilitationandrestorationoftheBadia terrestrial ecosystems. The Badia Restoration Program (BRP) was established in2008andhousedattheMinistryofEnvironmenttomanagethefinancialawardthroughtheexecutionofprojectsandactivitiestorestoreterrestrialecosystemsinJordanBadia.TheBRPprepared the Community Action Plan (CAP) to last for eight years (2011‐2019)beforeoutsourcing the implemented activities to local communities. TheCAP consists offourteen self‐standing projects with well‐defined activities, timetable and budget. Theseprojectsaregroupedundertwomaincomponents:integratedwatershedmanagementandintegratedlivestockandsocio‐economic.The goal of the CAP is to conduct most suitable restoration approaches, including thebiophysical interventions and socio‐economic arrangements, to fulfill the principalobjective of the BRP in restoring the damaged ecosystems in the Jordan Badia. Theexpected outcomes of the BRP are: restoration of terrestrial ecosystems; recovery ofbiodiversity and ecosystemproductivity in the Badia; and establishment of a sustainablecommunalgrazingsystem.These projects are focusing on the restoration of vegetation cover and preserving thebiodiversity of rangelands. The proposed tools for halting further loss in biodiversity inrangelandsaresummarizedinthefollowingparagraphs:The projects are implemented at thewatershed level whichmay harbor one ormore ofecosystems.Thislargelandscapeisimportanttoharborlargenumberofplantspeciesthathavedifferentuses. Theregulationofgrazingatthewatershedlevel isthemosteffective,

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andcheaptooltoenhancetheproductivityanddiversityofnativevegetationasfaraslocalcommunitiesarewillingtocollaborate.Themacro‐waterharvestingstructures(ponds)provideawaterresourcefortheflocksandpastoralistswithintheBadia,closer to theirhabitationwhich isexpected tominimize themovementofsheepandgoatflocksintheBadiainsearchofwater,therebymaximizingtheopportunityfortherangelandstorestandrecover.The Micro‐water harvesting structures (contour ridges) harness the rainwater (surfacerunoff)andstoreit intothesoilprofileoftheridgestoincreasetheproductivityofforageshrubstobegrowninthesestructuresandpromotestherecoveryofnativevegetationinthecatchmentandcultivatedareasoftherainwaterharvestingsystem.Developing thewaterspreadingstructures in therangelandsenhances theenvironmentalrestorationandtherecoveryofvegetationthroughminimizingsoilerosion.Several practices were introduced to promote regulation of grazing. Alternative energysources such as solar units were distributed to alleviate shrubs wood collection.Distributionofsubsidizedbarleygrainstolocalcommunitiestopromoteself‐destockingofsheepandgoatflocksintheBadiaandtoabidebytheinstructionsrelatedtoregulationofgrazing. Finally, the program adopts the development of simple and balanced feedingpackagestoimproveproductivityperheadtoencouragefarmerstocullthenon‐productiveanimals.ValuationofrangelandbiodiversityusingcommunitybasedapproachesThe Community‐based Rangeland Rehabilitation Project (CBRR) is a program developedandimplementedbytheRoyalBotanicalGarden(RBG).Theprogramismodeledafterthecommunity participatory projects which have seen successes in Jordan. The CBRR wasestablished in 2007 in order to facilitate this educational process.TheCBRR isdrivenbytwo main themes: to assist in the development of sustainable livelihoods for localcommunities while rehabilitating overgrazed and degraded soil. Often these goals areconsidered contradictory. As such, the herding community was initially resistant to theeffortsof theCBRR;andinitially ignoredthefencingaroundtheprotectedsiteandwouldactuallycuttheRBG’Sfenceinordertocontinuegrazingunhindered.The CBRR offered several programs to the herding community in the form of indirectsubsidies in exchange for the participation of the community in protecting the Tell Ar‐Rummansite.Grazingonthesiteisnotstrictlyprohibited,butisallowedtoanextentwhichcontinues to supplement the diet of ruminants with healthy and diverse forage whilesimultaneouslyallowingforagetodevelopwithoutthreatofovergrazing.Moreover, the CBRR acts as a middleman between the community and governmentagencies, which often ignore the opinions of local communities in favor of ‘ivory tower’approaches to effective landmanagement.Meetings are heldwith administrative officialsfrom, for example, theMinistriesofAgricultureandEnvironment, andare thenheldwithcommunityleadersandfamilyheadstohelpdeterminesuitablemanagementpracticesforbothparties.TheCBRR ismotivated togive thecommunityavoice, inparticularbecauseparticipatory community‐management systems have been proven effective tools incombatingdegradationthroughouttheworld.

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InthethreeyearsfollowingtheCBRR’s initiation, from2008to2010,theresultsareverypromising. Overall biomass in the entire site doubled, and in some sectors more thandoubled.Thestockingratefortheentiresite(calculatedas100%offoodintakefor30days)was estimated at around 1,400 sheep in 2010, nearly triple the 500 sheep estimated in2008.Theprogramexpertsanalysissuggestthatallowinganimalstograzeintheprotectedarea for 30 days would result in improving the net income by 5%‐11%, which is equalbetween$1,234to$1,898perherdperyear.ValuationofecosystemservicesrelatedtoforageplantsAnationalinitiativeonthevaluationofbiodiversityisdoneontheValuationofEcosystemServicesinMujibNatureReservemanagedbyRSCN,addressingtheissueofforageplants.The initiativeworkedwith rural and pastoral communitieswhich used to benefit from awidearrayofgoodsandservices fromnaturalecosystems. Thesebenefits include forageplants,medicinal andherbalplants,wildedibleplants, fuelwood,ornamentalplants, andwater.Unfortunately,thesebenefitsarerarelyvaluedfrommonetaryperspectiveandthisisoneofthereasonswhygrazingresourcesareroutinelylistedatthebottomofprioritylist.Theinitiativeisdocumentedinthereporttitled“CooperativeManagementforSustainableUseofGrazingResourcesinMujibNatureReserve,RSCN2014”.Oneoftheobjectivesoftheabove case study focused on the valuation of forage plants exploited fromMujib NatureResource. The communities benefiting from the Mujib Nature Reserve (MNR) inhabitMakawir,HidanandSahila areas located in thenorthern‐easternand central parts of thereserveandFaqu’communityinthesouthernpartofthereserve.TovaluetheeconomicsofforageplantsofMujibNatureReserve,atotalof63stockownerswereinterviewedfromthecommunitiesbenefitingfromthereserve. TherecordsofMNRshowed that numbers of flocks grazing in the reserve were 156. The number of theinterviewedflockownersrepresentedabout40%oftheflockownersinthearea.Numbersof grazing animals totaled to 6677 heads, 2636 heads in location 1 and 4041 heads inlocation2.Thegrazingperiodlastedfor8monthsinlocation1and2monthsinlocation2.TheadoptedapproachwastheindirectvaluationofconsumedforageduringthespecifiedperiodofgrazingintheReserve.Theassumptionsofthisapproachwere(i)averagebodyweightofsheeporgoatwas50kg,(ii)dailyintakeofforagewas1.25to1.5kgDMperhead(averagebodyweightofgrazinganimalsx2.5%).Estimateof forageconsumedfromlocations1and2 inMNRbysheepandgoatsduring8months in location 1 and 2months in location 2was 1312 ton drymatter. The annualmonetaryvalueofthisconsumedforageplantswasaroundUS$147,000.Themainlessonslearnedfromthisbriefare: Localcommunitiesderivedsubstantialamountsof foragematerial fromMujibNatural

Reserve, which represents three bio‐geographical regions that accounted to US$147,000.

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The forage valuation approach is a simple tool for valuating the forage resources ofothernaturalreservesrepresentingdifferentecosystemsinthecountry.Thiseconomicvaluationisimportantforpolicymakersforscalingoutthethemeofestablishmentandsustainablemanagementofnaturalreserves.

Specificapproachesareneededtovaluetheedible,herbal,medicinal,ornamentalplantsandcollectionoffuelwoodofnaturalreserves.

Benefitingfromindigenousknowledge:usingofmedicinalplantsLocal communities developed among years a good knowledge about the rational uses ofnativeplantsforhumanandanimalpurposes.Pastoralcommunitiesarewellawareabouttheusefulplantsfortreatingtheailmentsofhumansandanimals.AstructuredquestionnairewasdevelopedandpastoralistsusingtheMujibNatureReservewere interviewed. Percentage of pastoralists using medicinal plants for treating sickanimalsaveraged67.6%and56.7%inlocation1(Makawir,HidanandSahila)andlocation2(Faqu’),respectively.The totalnumberofmedicinalplants thatwerecommonlyusedby thepastoralistsof thetwo locations was twenty‐one; eighteen of them were used for humans. The Artemisiaherba‐alba, Matricaria aurea, Teucrium polium, and Thymus spp. were usually used forhumanswhereas;Teucriumpolium,Peganumharmala,Hypericumspp.,RetamaraetamandVarthemiai phionoides were used for animals. From ecological viewpoint, there is noproblemincollectingandusingthedifferentmedicinalplantsasfarassmallamountsarecollectedandused solelyby thepastoral communities. Collectionofmedicinalplants forcommercialmarketingwillresultinover‐harvestingandshouldbestrictlyforbidden.Fieldobservations indicatedthat themostvulnerablemedicinalplantsbecauseofgrazingareMatricaria aurea, Trigonella arabica and Artemisia herba‐alba. The majority of themedicinalplants thatwereused forhumansandanimals containvolatileoils that reducethe palatability of these plants. In other words, the targeted medicinal plants are notexpected to be affected directly by irrational grazing, but the indirect effects will bemanifestedbythedeteriorationofthehabitatsofthesemedicinalplants.TheconservationandsustainableuseoftheimportantmedicinalplantsintheMujibNatureReserverequiresstrictregulationsforboththegrazingandthecollectionoftheseplants.DocumentingtraditionalknowledgeinusingwildplantsintreatinghealthproblemsDocumentationof the traditionalknowledgeonmedicinalplantsof Jordan ingeneralandthe Badia region in particular still needsmore effort to prevent this valuable knowledgefrombeinglostafterthedeathofitsoldsecretkeepersandasthenewBedouingenerationsarenot interested in these treasuresofknowledge that theirancestorsowned.Moreover,thisisalsoveryimportantduetothecrucialhealthandeconomicpartofbiodiversitythatmedicinal plants signify; and to conserve the medicinal and aromatic flora of Jordan forfuturegenerationsaswellasensureJordan'ssovereignrightsoveritsgeneticresourcesanditsusesbyfirstdocumentingthem.

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According to this, the CBRR conducted an ethnobotanical study as a part of the localknowledge study which was carried out in 2010. The target participants were livestockownersinthearidJordanianBadiaregion.Thisstudyaimed,therefore,at(1)documentingtheoldgenerationtraditionalknowledgeoftheBadia region in usingwild plants in treating health problems, (2) identifying the keyplant species used, and (3) calculating the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) for eachcategoryofhealthdisorder,theFidelityLevel(FL%)andtheUseValue(UV)ofatheplantspeciesused.Thedatawascollectedbyinterviewing80participantswhomwereinterviewedfacetofaceof whom 21%werewomen. The team designed a questionnaire that helped in the datagathering,andalsorecordedtheproceduresusedbythelocalcommunitiesonvideo.Atotalof47plantspeciesareusedbylocalBedouinsformedicinalpurposes.Themajorityof these species are native to the study area, for example: Artemisia judaica, Citrulluscolocynthis,EcballiumelateriumandRheumpalaestinum.Thestudyshowedthat theplantspecies with the highest UV is Artemisia herba‐alba and that Ducrosia flabellifolia is aremarkable native plant species with a high FL% in curing dental pain. Moreover, thehighestvalueofICFwasscoredfordentaldisorders,followedbygastrointestinaldisorders,andjaundicewhichmayindicatethehighincidentaloccurrencesofthesediseasesand/orthelackofdentalcareservicesintheruralareas.The study showed an agreement of the local Bedouins on using certain plant species,particularly natives in their dry surroundings, in treating certain health disorders. Someplants showedhighusevaluesand fidelity levels to treat certainhealthproblem.Furtherinvestigationshouldbecarriedout in Jordanonthepharmaceuticalvalueandproductionpractices of these native medicinal plants that have very low water requirements in acountrywithextremewatershortages.

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Part II: National Biodiversity Strategy and MainstreamingBiodiversity Sectionfive:UpdateontheNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlanand

ItsImplementation

5.1NationalTargetsandIndicatorsRelatedtoBiodiversityJordanhasnotyetdeveloped itsnationalbiodiversity targets related to theAichiTargetsandtheirrelatedindicators.Arapidassessmentwasundertakenonwhathasbeendonetoachievethe different Aichi targets since their global approval. The assessment presented here is considered a first step in developing the national targets related to Aichi Target, process which will be concluded during the process of updating the NBSAP foreseen for completion in 2014. Despite the above, the set of national targets which were identified as part of the 2003 the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the National Agenda, are considered the milestones used to assess the national performance under the various themes of environmental protection including biodiversity conservation. TheNationalAgenda2007–2017representsanambitiousefforttocreateamasterplanforthe reform, future growth and development of Jordan. The Agenda initiatives weredevelopedinthreekeyareas:

1‐ Government&Policies.2‐ BasicRights&Freedoms.3‐ Services,Infrastructure&EconomicSectors.

The third theme above includes the environmental sustainability as one of its key focusareas. The agenda identified several challenges in regard to the environmentalsustainabilitysectorandrecommendedseveralinitiativestoaddressthem,asfollows: Improve themanagementof natural reserves anddevelop amaster plan for landuse

andensureitsimplementation. Formulatealong‐termcomprehensivepolicytocombatdesertificationandintegrateit

innationalsustainabledevelopmentpolicies.For example, a performance indicator was established to monitor progress on theestablishmentofprotectedareasstaringfromthe2009baselineofsevenProtectedAreas.

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5.2CurrentNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlan The NBSAP of Jordan was formulated based on the Article 6 of the CBD which came into effect in 1993. Jordan formulated the First National Biodiversity Strategy in December 2001(and was launched in 2003) as a national strategy aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity based on the CBD. The Jordan NBSAP provides a framework for actions at all levels that will enhance the ability to ensure the productivity, diversity and integrity of our natural systems and, as a result, the ability to develop sustainably. The NBSAP proposed a series of priority objectives and actions that are presented according to fivethemesinvolvingmostsectorsofsociety,asfollows: Theme1:protectionofbiologicalresources;includesendangeredspecies;nationalred

list;andprotectedareas. Theme 2: sustainable use of biological resources; includes wild plants; forests;

terrestrial and freshwater wild fauna; marine life and fisheries; microorganisms;agricultureresources;plantproduction;animalproduction;andrangelandproduction.

Theme3:reducingtheimpactofindustryonbiodiversity;includesmining;industryandfactoryproduction;biotechnologyandbiosafety;andeco‐tourism.

Theme 4: promoting integrated land use planning andwater resources development,thisincludeslandtenureandlanduseplanning;andwaterresources.

Theme5: towards abiodiversity‐oriented society, this includeseconomicvaluationofbiodiversity; legislation and institutional structure; and public awareness andparticipation.

On the other hand, the Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 developed by CBD comprisesfivestrategictargetsthatsetoutatotaloftwentybiodiversitytargets(theAichiBiodiversityTargets).Thesestrategictargetsconsistof: StrategicgoalA:Address theunderlyingcausesofbiodiversity lossbymainstreaming

biodiversityacrossgovernmentandsociety, StrategicgoalB:Reduce thedirectpressuresonbiodiversityandpromotesustainable

use, StrategicgoalC:Improvethestatusofbiodiversitybysafeguardingecosystems,species

andgeneticdiversity, StrategicgoalD:Enhancethebenefitstoallfrombiodiversityandecosystemservices, Strategic goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge

managementandcapacitybuilding.An attempt was made by the national team working on this report to establish a general correlation between the existing NBSAP themes and the Aichi Targets. The preliminary assessment showed that most of the Aichi targets are already covered by the five national strategic themes. The below diagram demonstrates this hypothetical correlation as a mere indication of association to be used in further planned analysis intended in the NBSAP update process.

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26

21

11

42

58

5

32

11

16

11 11

16

26

21

0 0

11

0

16

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

A.1. A.2. A.3. A.4. B.5. B.6. B.7. B.8. B.9. B.10.C.11. C.12. C.13.D.14.D.15.D.16.E.17.E.18.E.19.E.20.

PercentageofRepresentativenessofAichiTargetswithintheStrategicThemesofthe2003NBSAPinJordan

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5.3TheImplementationoftheCurrentNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlanThe 2003 NBSAP included 60 proposed projects related to the measures identified in Jordan’s Convention on Biological Diversity implementation Strategy. A preliminary unsystematic assessment was done to measure the percentage of the projects implemented since 2003. The analysis indicates that above 50% of the projects were implemented until 2014. The rest of the projects are either under consideration for funding or are deferred due to lack of financial resources or changes to the conditions related to their execution. It is noteworthy that many of these projects were delivered through national funding. Further, the tentative assessment identified key challenges and constraints which faced – and often still are – the implementation of the projects portfolio initially intended in 2003, as follows: The absence of clear resource mobilization strategy. The lack of a unified knowledge management and data processing system specific for

biodiversity. The ineffective national communication and coordination framework on biodiversity. The NBSAP was not well incorporated into other national sectoral plans and projects. The projects identified in the NBSAP do not adequately address the private sector and local

communities in their planning and delivery. The NBSAP was not accompanied with a continuous national outreach program. Lead implementing agencies were not clearly identified for each of the proposed projects.

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5.4TheUpdateoftheNationalBiodiversityStrategyandActionPlan The process of updating the NBSAP for Jordan is underway. It is anticipated for conclusion in 2015 and a revised NBSAP strongly aligned with the global biodiversity strategy is foreseen. The process of the updating process of the NBSAP is planned to follow the methodology set by the CBD and elaborated by IUCN. The below diagram summarizes the process framework:

AsetofguidingprinciplesareconsideredforthedevelopmentoftheupdatedNBSAP: TheNBSAP is theprinciple instrument for implementing theConventiononBiological

Diversity. TheNBSAPneedstobeupdatedinlightofthenewStrategicPlanforBiodiversity2011‐

2020andtheAichiTargetstodevelopaclearsetofnationalindicators. TheNBSAPhastomainstreambiodiversityintoallnationalsectors,andcross‐sectoral

strategiesincludingeconomicplanningsector. The updated NBSAP has to be turned into more strategic planning tool aiming at

reflectingnationaldevelopmentandenvironmentalobjectivesmorewidely. TheprocessofupdateoftheNBSAPwilladoptthefollowingsteps: TheformulationofanationalworkinggroupfortheupdateoftheNBSAPcomprisingall

key stakeholder and interest groups. The working group will be convened by theMinistryofEnvironmentandwillbeguidedbythenationalbiodiversitycommittee.

Afullreviewofthenationalprogressmadeontheimplementationofthe2003NBSAP,including:

o Theupdateofthesituationanalysisofkeybiodiversityvaluesandattributes.o Therevisionofthemainthreatstonationalbiodiversity.o Theanalysisofthekeydirectandindirectdriversofbiodiversityloss.

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o ThereviewoftheNBSAPprojectsimplementationandtheirlessonslearned. ThedevelopmentofarevisedvisionstatementforbiodiversityinJordan. The review of the strategic goals for biodiversity alongside their midterm outcomes.

ThesewillbealignedwiththeglobalbiodiversitystrategyandtheAichitargets. Thedevelopmentofarevisednationalactionplanforbiodiversity. The development and adoption of a revised governance framework for the

implementation of the NBSAP and its monitoring using global best practices andguidelines.

ThedesignofanationaloutreachandawarenessraisingcampaigntopromotenationalengagementintheNBSAPimplementation.

Thedevelopmentofastrategicframeworkforfinancingtheupdatedplanfromnationalandexternalsources.

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SectionSix:ActionsandMeasuresTakentoImplementtheCBDsincethe4thNationalReport

6.1NationalLegislation,InstitutionalSupportandCapacityBuildingSeveraleffortscanberecognizedinthisthemeasfollows: Asbiodiversityconservationisbeingsharedbymanypublicandcivilorganizations

in Jordan, a national biodiversity committeewas established in 2011 andwill beguidingtheprocessofupdatingtheNBSAP.ItalsofunctionsasanadvisorygrouponbiodiversityissuesfortheMoEnv.

Anewbylawfornatureconservationisunderway. Special regulations for the declaration andmanagement of SCAswere adopted in

2011. In2009,theMinistryofEnvironmentissuedabylawfortheregulationofgenetically

modified organisms and related products which result from research inbiotechnology.TheseregulationswereissuedbasedonArticle(4)section(D)oftheEnvironmentProtectionActNo.52fortheyear2006.ThesameispublishedonthewebsiteoftheMinistry.

In2013,theMinistryofEnvironmentissuedaPolicy‐OrientedResearch,Priorities,Guidelines, Procedures, and Tools to Conduct, Promote and Support theImplementationofRioConventionsinJordan.

Throughout Jordan, many examples have been developed in implementing localcommunity‐ based conservation projects that link between biodiversityconservationandmeetinglocallivelihooddemands.Someofthemainsuccessesandcase studies of excellence in this aspectwere developed by theGEF Small GrantsProgram(SGP).

In 2012 a biodiversity research groupwas formulated and linked to theNationalBiodiversityCommittee.

AnationalcommitteewasformulatedforplantgeneticresourcesbyMoAon2012.Thisyear2014acommitteewasformulatedforplantgeneticresourcesbyNCARE.

TheinfrastructureandstaffcapacityatNCAREwasenhancedinthelastyearswithavisiontoimprovethelivelihoodoflocalcommunitybyimplementingandimprovingpolicies and national programs to enhance sustainable conservation and use ofplantgeneticresourcesforfoodandagriculture.

InsituConservationEfforts Three protected areas were declared since the 4th National Report to the CBD which are. These are: Yarmouk in 2010, Fifa in 2011, and Qatar in 2011. The concept of special conservation areas was introduces in the protected area system in Jordan, and a set of special regulations for their declaration and management was adopted. An elaboration on the national protected areas and special conservation areas programs is presented in part I and part III in this report.

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6.2Managementofwildlifetradeanduse International, regional and national efforts had been initiated to meet global conservation challenges including combating the continuous abuse of wildlife species through illegal trade in wildlife, and accommodating these species in zoos and private collections which situate them in poor conditions. Across the Middle East, specifically focusing on Jordan, the new and modern era for zoos and sanctuaries has not yet been valorized and developed. Zoos are run as business oriented private ownerships, giving way to wildlife species being kept in poor conditions as a result of poor feeding, poor veterinary care, and limited space (Schwamer and Sakner report of zoo screening in Amman, in 2011). Jordan is also known to be a ‘corridor’ for the illegal trade of wildlife; from north including Syria, Turkey, and sometimes Europe, to the Arabian Gulf Countries. However Jordan is one of the few Arab countries that complies with the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), resulting in a number of these animals being confiscated due to the that fact that some of these animals are being transported without proper legal documents and certificates or the transportation means do not conform with the international regulations for live animal transport. Furthermore, some of these animals are being smuggled in different ways. As a result for these situations, the animals must be accommodated in appropriate facilities where they may be treated medically and rehabilitated before being sent back to their country of origin or kept in accordance with the IUCN guidelines that deal with confiscated live animals. Both confiscated animals from the illegal trade, and those which are kept in bad conditions in private zoos, raise the need of finding proper, high standard, and sustainable solutions, where these animals can be accommodated and rehabilitated, then send back to their wild when possible, while the educational, research, and conservation use are promoted. Hence, Al Ma’wa was established as a regional participatory model for rescued and abused wildlife conservation and socio economic development. Al Ma'awa for Nature and Wildlife was established through a partnership between the Princess Alia Foundation and Vier-Pfoten International and will serve as a regional hub providing the much needed long term solutions for rescued wildlife.

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6.3ConservationofAgro‐biodiversity Natural rangelands have a vital role in Jordan through meeting part of the feeding requirements for livestock despite the deterioration that affected range resources over the past decades. Rangelands continued constituting a main source for livestock fodder and a major component of ecosystems in the country. Rising to the challenge of enhancing such role, rangeland reserves were established in the different eco-regions and have been managed in accordance with sound range policies and sustainable grazing systems. Now there are about 35 rangeland reserves in different ecosystems in Jordan with a total area of about 1 million and 300,00ha established by MOA. In addition to that there are 14 nurseries belong to MOA to produce forest trees (around 3 millions in 2013) for the national restoration program and produce some shrubs for rehabilitation of range land the production potential for the nurseries about 9 Million transplants per year and distributed freely. The National Seed Bank at NCARE was established in 1993. Since then, it has carried out ambitious national programs and activities regarding PGR; collections, conservation and utilization activities, where new crops were targeted and Global Plan of Actions were implemented. Seed gene bank was established with well equipped facilities 70 m3 cold store, in which seeds are conserved in vacuum sealed aluminum foil bags under 40 C as medium term storage. As the Bank started working, NCARE started to host again the Jordanian various germplasm held at ICARDA Seed Bank. So far, 1443 ICARDA seed samples have been delivered and stored safely at NCARE. Currently, the National Seed Bank has around 4,000 accessions of PGRFA and has loaned national and regional researchers with more than 1,700 accessions. All seed accessions are fully documented and linked with herbarium specimens. The below figure shows the types and percentage distribution of conserved PGR seeds accessions at the NCARE gene bank:

20 %

9%

4%

12 %

0.20%

3%1%1.4%

8.2%

42%

Cereals

Forage legumes

Food Legumes

Medicinal plant

Oil Seed

Others

Range shrub

Tree

Vegetables

Wild species

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In the last years the participatory approach has been enhanced in managing range resources as to sustain natural rangelands and thus secure livelihoods for generations to come against a backdrop of challenges imposed by climate change including successive droughts that have aggravated the deterioration of natural resources and wildlife and expedited desertification. IUCN and partners are implementing a project entitled “Securing Rights and Restoring Lands for Improved Livelihoods” in Jordan aiming at poverty reduction, sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems in drylands and rangelands. The project plans to build the capacities of local communities and their institutions to manage and restore their ecosystems and improve their marketing activities. Four pilot areas were selected in Jordan within Zarqa and Mafraq governorates, where the project will explore economic and income generating options for rural communities based on natural resource commodities and on valuations of ecosystem services. The project will also inform and influence policies to support sustainable management of dry lands and rangelands at local, national, regional and global levels.

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6.4ManagingtheImpactsofClimateChange There is “very high confidence” (as laid down by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC)) that climate change is already affecting living systems. The responses of both fauna and flora span an array of ecosystems and organizational hierarchies, from the species to the community levels. Climate change is being observed and treated as the biggest environmental, social, economic and political challenge nowadays. Biodiversity conservation is also facing upturn pressure to configure its priorities and interventions under climate change circumstances, therefore, Biodiversity conservation institutions start to think of building its capacity in anticipating the effects of climate change on Nature and mainstream climate change in the decision making processes at all levels. Accordingly, the Integrated Ecosystem Management Project in the Jordan Rift Valley which was a project implemented by the RSCN (from 2008 till 2013) developed a unit that is specialized in the climate change research and strategic planning at the RSCN. The main objective of the unit component is to assess the regional impacts of climatic change on the future distribution of some major floristic groups and ecosystems dynamic in the JRV, in terms of biodiversity conservation, and incorporate the results into the conservation planning and management of PAs and SCAs. Also, Jordan developed a national communication team for climate change and biodiversity in January 2011 including the major stakeholders from governmental, non-governmental and scientific organizations to work on mainstreaming climate change in the different programs and Plan for Adaptive Capacity assessments in Jordan. As part of its commitment to international environmental conventions, Jordan initiated with the support of UNFCCC a National Economic and Environmental Development Study (NEEDS, 2010) for Climate Change. NEEDS initiative aims at identifying financing needs to implement adaptation and mitigation measures. Furthermore, the imitative will identify linkages with financial and regulatory instruments that will support the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures. Eventually, the initiative should provide opportunity for inputs into the national development plan. Constraints, gaps and related financial, technical and capacity needs to incorporate the climate change mitigation and adaptation issues into national policies were identified. These included the low level of knowledge on the national level, lack of financial resources, as well as the absence of the national policies that address the climate change issues. According to NEEDS report to CC (2010), one of the main challenges identified was the low level of knowledge and awareness of the climate change issues among the national stakeholders. This has led to the absence of climate change aspects from most of the national strategies and policies. Another challenge identified was the absence of financial resources to address the climate change.

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6.5MainstreamingBiodiversityintoNationalFrameworksandStrategies In different national strategies the sustainable use of biodiversity components according to article 10 has been tackled to extent possible, but it should be complemented in fields such as inclusion of local communities and private sector into restoring nature. There are some examples where attention is paid in national policies to the main elements of the CBD. The National Agricultural Strategy The National Agricultural Strategy placed the “conservation of biodiversity and utilizing it in integrating and supporting agricultural development” as a general objective of the strategy. To this end, the Strategy calls for the use of local species in agriculture, and the use of local medicinal and aromatic plants for the benefit of local cooperative societies. Updated Rangeland Strategy 2013/2014 The updated strategy complies with the recommendations of Rio conventions. It highlights the importance of local community’s knowledge and skills including women in the management and protection of rangeland. The role of cooperatives in rangelands management and conservation and role of beneficiary organizations in a cooperative framework is also emphasized. On the other hand, the updated strategy includes the necessity of reviewing relevant legislations for effective management of resources as to be managed communally. The objectives of the strategy also take into account providing the farmers and herders with incentives to improve land use practices, to ensure sustainability and reduced land fragmentation. The strategy also addresses flock management and range management in addition to curbing the expansion of crop cultivation at the expense of fragile rangeland ecosystem. The National Tourism Strategy (2011-2015) The National Tourism Strategy for the years 2011-2015 was built on 4 pillars one of which is product development which is intended to ensure sustainability and environmental protection. Several actions were proposed to insure the protection of environment during the tourism development process. Also, the strategy addresses ecotourism as one of the important niche market in the coming years. Wild Socioeconomic Plant Conservation Strategy for Jordan The RBG’s recent document, ‘Wild Socioeconomic Plant Conservation Strategy for Jordan’ wasdevelopedwiththeoverallgoalofdevelopinga‘roadmap’forplantconservationinJordan,strengthening national capacity, and get attention of national stakeholders and decisionmakers for sustainable conservation of wild plants of Jordan. The strategy aims atpromoting Jordan efforts to sustainably conserve the genetic diversity of wild speciesparticularlythoseofsocioeconomicimportanceatnationalandregionallevel.Inaddition,the strategy allows the implementation of several international conventions, treaties andactions like theCBD (Articles6, 8,9 and18), theNagoyaprotocol and theGlobalPlanofAction(GPA).Scientificmethodology has been used to identify priority plant species for integration inmanagement, conservation and sustainable utilization programs, aswell as to identify in

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situ andex situ conservationpriorities.Among them, thereare cropwild relatives (CWR)which are a key element for agriculture improvement and food security. The strategyresults from the best available information, collected from national, regional andinternational herbaria, aswell as gene banks,whichwas then scientifically analyzed andutilizedtoassesstheconservationstatusandtomakerecommendationsfor insituandexsituconservationofplantspeciesgrowingwildinJordan.Jordan Climate Change Policy 2013-2020 RSCN through it is extensive efforts in the National Climate Change Committee was able to participate in the consultancy TOR preparation and after that influencing the climate change policy formulators to include biodiversity considerations within adaptation part through the ecosystem based adaptation and within mitigation through land use considerations PAs and ecosystems role in carbon sequestration. Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy The Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Jordan Rift Valley project developed ecological climate change adaptation strategies for Protected Areas and Special Conservation Areas in the Jordan Rift Valley area. These strategies rely on three key concepts or pathways: Resistance, Resilience and Transition. The RSCN selected 3 protected areas and one special conservation area to assess the effects of climate change on biodiversity and proposed the adaptation models in the Jordan Rift Valley that can be replicated in other protected areas in the future. Third National Communication Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Jordan ratified the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in 1993 thus Jordan prepared and submitted two national communication reports to the convention till this date, the communication reports included major sectors emissions and major sectors impacts resulted from climate change. Nevertheless, biodiversity and ecosystems were not investigated as a sector in those two previous communications to the UNFCCC, therefore there was a need to include biodiversity and ecosystems sector in Jordan’s UNFCCC communication reports to cover this sensitive and important sector. Accordingly the third TNC report highlighted the climate change impact on biodiversity and ecosystems, assess the vulnerability of biodiversity and ecosystems sector in Jordan toward climate change and suggested adaptation measures in form of best fit local and national projects.

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PartIII:Progresstowardsthe2020AichiBiodiversityTargetsandMillenniumDevelopmentGoals

SectionSeven:Progresstowardsthe2011‐2020StrategicPlanforBiodiversityanditsAichiBiodiversityTargets

7.1Generalapproachtothe2020StrategicPlanandAichitargetsJordanhasbeenprogressing very steadily in achieving it national biodiversityprotectionobjectivesandcontributingtotheglobalbiodiversityagendarepresentedbythe2011‐2020GlobalBiodiversityStrategyanditsassociatedAichiTargets.Itisimportanttonotethatthenational approach towards the implementation of the global strategy has not been fullysystematic, however, major achievements can be reported form the various sectors andstakeholders involved in the environmental protection sector from the governmentagencies, nongovernment organizations, academic institutions, local communities andprivatesector.Themainfactorsinfluencingtheeffectivenessoftheapproachandprocessaswell as the results of the national follow up on the global biodiversity strategy and thealignmentofnationalstrategies,programsandprojectswiththeAichitargetsarenumerousand are all being addressedby theMinistry of Environment and its partners to ensure amoresystemicandsystematicnationalprogramforbiodiversity.Thesefactorsinclude: The national framework for governance including the legislative frameworks,

institutional coordination, decisionmaking structures and processes, and systems formonitoringandenforcement.

The continuation and enhancement of political commitment to biodiversityconservationasnationalprioritywhichisnoteasilysupersededbyotherdevelopmentagendasandpriorities.

The national coordination mechanism in regard to biodiversity protection and therespective roles of the ministry of environment, the other line ministries, the nongovernmentorganizationsandacademia.

The national knowledge management systems related to biodiversity in terms ofnational databases, access to information, update of data, research programs andprotocol,technicalcapacitiesofinstitutions.

The update of the key national strategies associated with biodiversity, primarily thenational biodiversity strategy and action plan but also the other sectoral strategiesneededtomainstreambiodiversityinotherdevelopmentfields.

The establishment of the economic value of biodiversity as a key contributor to thenationaleconomyandatoolforlongtermnationalsecurityandsustainability.

The sustainable financing mechanisms for the national biodiversity programs andinitiativesfromlocalandinternationalsourcesandtools.

Although a bit delayed, the fully systematic alignment of national strategies, targets andprogramswiththe2020globalstrategyandtheAichitargetswillbeastrategicgoalfortheministryofenvironmentinthenewNBSAP(2015‐2020)andothermandaterelatedpoliciesandguidelines.

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7.2NationalTargetsandtheirRelevancetoAichiTargetsThis section includes a summary on key national progress and achievements related toAichi targets categorizedunder each strategic goal and its targets. It is important tonotethatonlynationallyrelevantglobal targetsare includeddependingon thenationaleffortsrelated to them. 25 national initiatives were identified to contribute to the partialachievementof13oftheglobalAichiTargetsduringthelastfouryearsorso.StrategicGoalA:Addresstheunderlyingcausesofbiodiversitylossbymainstreamingbiodiversityacrossgovernmentandsociety.

Target1By2020,atthelatest,peopleareawareofthevaluesofbiodiversityandthestepstheycantaketoconserveanduseitsustainably

Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

1. TheNationalAllianceforEnvironmentalNongovernmentOrganizations

In2008,thenationalenvironmentalNGOsalliancewasformallylaunchedconstitutedof10active environmental NGOs in Jordan in 2013. The alliance aims to act as the nationalreferencepointtoadvocateonenvironmentalissues.NGOsmembersoftheallianceincludetheRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofNature,TheRoyalMarineConservationSocietyofJordan, the Jordan Environment Society, the Energy Conservation and SustainableEnvironment Society, the Jordanian Society for Renewable Energy, the Jordan Society forCompactDesertification’s,OrganicFarming Society,TheArabGroup for theProtectionofNature, the Jordan Green Building Council, and the Royal Botanical Garden. Theestablishment isakeydevelopmentintheenvironmentalgovernanceinJordaningeneralandthebiodiversityconservationinparticular.Thealliance iscurrentlypreparingitsfirststrategic plan and its associated plan of action. One of the main strategic goals of thealliancewillbetoraise thenationalawarenessandenhancesupport for theprotectionofbiodiversityagainstunsustainabledevelopmentagendasandprojects.

2. TheBergeshForestsCampaign

BergeshisadenseevergreenoakforestlocatedinthenortherncountryasanextensiontoAjlounforest.Amilitarybasewasestablishedintheforestseveraldecadesago.Thearmedforces proposed to establish a training academy within the forest in the areas with theheaviest tree cover. The new academy is designed to over an area of 981,000 sqm. TheRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofnatureincollaborationwithNationalEnvironmentalNGOsallianceledaNationalCampaignatalllevelstostopthisdecision.ThecampaignwassupportedbyallRSCNmembersandfriends,inadditiontothealliancesupporters.The campaignorganizersmanaged to contact themilitarydecisionmakers, thedonors ofthisproject,andthelocalcommunitiesaroundBergesh,tocanceltheprojectandtocallintoaccountthosewhowereengagedintheillegaltreeremoval.Thecampaignmanagedtostopthisdecision,andsecurewhat is left fromthisdenseevergreenoak.Thissuccesswasnotabletobeachievedwithoutthefullcooperationwithallwhoareinchargedinconservationrepresented by the alliance, in addition to the full engagement of local communities that

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were aware about the values of the forest around their settlements and joined forces topreventthedestructionofthisnationalasset.

3. TheJREDSEco‐SchoolsProgram

TheRoyalMarineConservationSocietyofJordan(JREDS)hasbeenimplementingtheeco‐schoolsprogram in Jordansince2008.Theprogramaims to raise students' awarenessofsustainabledevelopmentissuesthroughclassroomstudyaswellasschoolandcommunityaction.Withtheemphasisplacedonademocraticandparticipatoryapproach,theprogramencourageschildrenandyouthfromallbackgrounds,classesandareasinJordan,whetherin public or private schools to take an active role in how their school canbe run for thebenefitoftheenvironment–highlightingtheimportanceofcivicvalues.Theeco‐schoolsprogramisbasedontheISO14001:2004thatspecifiesrequirementsforanenvironmentalmanagementsystemtoenableanorganizationtodevelopandimplementapolicyandobjectiveswhichtakeintoaccountlegalrequirementsandotherrequirementstowhich the organization subscribes, and information about significant environmentalaspects.Theeco‐schoolsmethodologyencompassessevenstepsthatanyschoolcanadopt.Theprocessinvolvesawiderangeofstakeholders,butpupilsplaythecentralrole.Afteraperiodofparticipation,anevaluationofthesuccessoftheseinitiativesandthemethodologyisundertaken,and thewholeEco‐Schoolsprogramforeachschool isassessed.Successfuleco‐schools are awarded the green flag, an internationally acknowledged symbol forenvironmentalexcellence.Sofar,atotalof95eco‐schoolsareestablishedinthreenationallocalitiesincluding60schoolsinAmman,30inAqabaand5inZarqa.TheawardedschoolsforgreenflagaredistributedinAmmanwithatotalof12,and9schoolsinAqaba.

Target2By2020,atthelatest,biodiversityvalueshavebeenintegratedintonationalandlocaldevelopmentandpovertyreductionstrategiesandplanningprocessesand

arebeingincorporatedintonationalaccounting,asappropriate,andreportingsystems.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

4. MainstreamingBiodiversityintheTourismSectorDevelopment

This is a new national program addressing biodiversity protection in Jordan is the“MainstreamingofBiodiversityConservationintheTourismSectorDevelopmentinJordan”project.Theprojecthasstarted in2014and isexpectedtoconclude itsactivities in2017.TheaimoftheprojectistoreducetheimpactoftourismonbiodiversityinJordananditwillinterveneatthreelevels.At the national level, it addresses the development of a regulatory and enforcementframework to reduce the impact of tourism on biodiversity, centrally (upstream);componentsarebeingbepilotedatthelocallevel,assessedandrefinedinpreparationforbeing adopted nationally and to bemade available for replication and up‐scaling. At theregional/landscapelevel,theprojecttargetspublicawarenessandsensitivityofthevalueofbiodiversityasatourismdrawcardandinstitutionalcapacityforplanning,monitoringandenforcement so as to manage the impacts of tourism development inside and outsideformally protected areas. At the Protected Area site level, the project works to enhance

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capacity and management effectiveness of PAs (including revenue generation, tourismplanningandmanagementandcommunityrelations)soastoreduceimpactsonprotectedbiodiversityandbenefitfromnature‐basedtourismandecotourism.

5. ClimateChangeandBiodiversity

Climatechangeresearchinrelationtobiodiversitywasconductedin2012withtheaimtoguide the conservation sector of Jordan in regards to current and future managementprocedures. Four pilot sites were analyzed and monitoring programs and adaptationinterventions were recommended. It was predicted that there will be an averagetemperatureincreaseof1‐2°C,anddecreaseinprecipitationofapproximately30%bythelatter half of this century. Expected impacts/risks from climate change on ecosystems inJordan according to climate exposure and sensitivity of ecosystems are droughts, forestdieback, and community composition change, expansion of drier biomes into marginallands,habitatdegradationandspeciesloss.The following climate change adaptation interventions have been implemented in theJordanRiftValleyarea: Increasingresistancetoclimatechangethroughtherestorationofdeciduousoakforests

atAlYarmoukProtectedAreaandShulehSpecialConservationArea. ImprovingwatermanagementatMujibBiosphereReserve. Improving resilience to climate change through restorationof Juniper forests atDana

BiosphereReserve. Improving connectivity through agro‐biodiversity andplantinghedge grovesbetween

farmswithnativelocalspeciesatFifaProtectedArea.

6. EffortsoftheForestryDepartment/MinistryofAgricultureontheSustainableUseofbiodiversity

Theadoptionof thebylaw (G9/2008)under theagricultural lawNo.44of theyear2002whichdealswithpositiveincentivesgiventocommunitiesinandaroundforestryareasbyallowinglocalcommunities–underspecialregulations‐tocollectfruitsandwoodlogsandto cultivatemushrooms in caves locatednear to their residence.Moreover,each family isallowed to make benefit of bare forest area (1,000 m2) to cultivate medicinal andornamentalplantsasanincomegeneratingproject.Inreturnthelocalcommunitymembersareexpectedtohelp in forestryresourcesprotectionefforts.Nowadays,about50 familiesarebenefitingfromthisproject.Wood collected from fallen trees and trees removed for specific reasons are sold to localcommunitiesfornominalprices,about1/4‐1/6oftheirmarketprice.Moreoverandunderspecialconditions,needyfamiliesareprovidedwith500kgofwoodfreeofchargetosatisfytheirneedsoffuelwood,especiallyduringwinter.Thisisexpectedtoreduceunauthorizedtreescuttingduringwintertoprovidewood.A national afforestation project was initiated in 1993 to incorporate private sectorinstitutions in afforestation efforts. The project was re‐launched in 2005 and recently inJune2014.Theprojectregulationswerereviewedandamended.Participatinginstitutionisexpectedtoplantanallocatedsiteandconserveitlateron.Inreturnthisinstitutionhasthe

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right to name the site after the institution name and to use it for recreation purposes.Currently,morethan80institutionsareinvolvedintheproject.AnarrangementwasmadebetweentheministryofAgricultureandtheministryofindustryandtradetolowercustomsandtaxesonimportedwoodandcoal.Thepurposeistogiveacompetitive advantage of these items of foreign origin compared to products from localorigin,thus,makingunauthorizedwoodloggingandprocessinglessappealing.Thisshouldresultinforestprotectionasanimportanthabitatforbiodiversity.

7. TheJREDSFEEPrograminAqaba,WadiRumandPetraThe Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan (JREDS) is running two internationalprogramsundertheFoundationforEnvironmentalEducation,theBlueFlagandGreenKeyschemesforgreencertification.TheBlueFlagprogramwasreleasedin2010asavoluntaryeco‐label for beaches andmarinas and serves as a symbol of high quality in the area ofenvironmentalmanagement,waterquality,safetyandhealth,andenvironmentalawarenessandinformationthatiseasilyrecognizedbytouristsandtouroperators.Theprogramaimstocontributetopreventionandconservationofnaturalresourcesbypromotingsustainablemanagement and encourages local community aswell as visitors to respect beaches andtheirsurroundingareas.Sofar,fivehotelsraisedtheBlueFlag,fourinAqabaandoneintheDeadSeaarea.Recently,apublicbeachinAqabaappliedtoobtaintheBlueFlagaswell.The Green Key program is an eco‐label for tourism facilities that aims to contribute topreventionofclimatechangeandsupportsustainabletourismbyawardingandpromotinggood initiatives. The Green Key aims to change the practices and behavior of tourismstakeholders including enterprises, authorities, guests, local communities, and to involvetheminincreasingtheirresponsibilitytowardstheirownenvironment.Thecomprehensivedemandsputonthelabeledbusinessescomprisedemandsonenvironmentalmanagement,technical measures, communication, and environmental education. So far, a total of tenhotelsobtainedtheGreenKeyinAqaba,aswellassixinAmmanandtwointheDeadSeaarea.Acurrentsuccessstoryaddressesthedevelopmentofaspecializedsetofguidelinesfordesertcamps.Thisinitiativesucceededtodecreasetheimpactontheenvironmentandincrease revenuesachievedby campmanagers.A total of 11 campswereawardedunderthegreenkeyinWadiRumandPetraareasduringthelasttwoyears.

Target4By2020,atthelatest,Governments,businessandstakeholdersatalllevelshavetakenstepstoachieveorhaveimplementedplansforsustainableproductionand

consumptionandhavekepttheimpactsofuseofnaturalresourceswellwithinsafeecologicallimits.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

8. TheSweimehEco‐ParkontheDeadSeaCoastSweimeheco‐parkisadenseandconnectedTamariskwoodedarealocatedatthenorthernshoreline of the Dead Sea. The conservation of Tamarisk trees met the interest ofDevelopmentZoneCompany,agovernmentownedcompanyinchargedindevelopmentofDead Sea area. The Eco‐park was established to protect more than 50ha of the nativevegetationwhich lies within the restricted range Dead Sea Sparrow, and to enhance the

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wildpopulationoftheendemicfishAphaniusrichardsoni.Themanagementoftheeco‐parkwasdelegatedtoRSCNwhichimplementstheprogramincooperationwithallstakeholdersincluding the local communities. A community based initiative is being implemented toeradicatetheinvasiveProsopisjulifloratreesanduseitsproductsaslivestockfodderandasfirewood.Thecompanysupportstheinitiativeasapartofitssocialresponsibilityprogramincludedwithin thescopeof themasterplanof thesouthernDeadSeaareadevelopment.Thisapproachcontributestothefinancialsustainabilityofthepark,supportedbytheneweco‐tourismactivitieswhichareproposedtoenhancetheincomeoftheparktosupporttheongoingconservationactivities.Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promotesustainableuse

Target5By2020,therateoflossofallnaturalhabitats,includingforests,isatleasthalvedandwherefeasiblebroughtclosetozero,anddegradationandfragmentationis

significantlyreduced.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

9. TheNewEnvironmentProtectionLawTheministryof environmenthas just finished reviewing theenvironmental law52/year2006toadaptthenewchallengesthat impacttheenvironmentofJordan.Specificupdatesweremadeonthislawdealingwiththehabitatsprotection,establishmentoftheprotectedareas, bio‐safety, and the genetically modified organisms. On the other hand, violencesystem was maximized, especially for violationsthat directly impactbiodiversity, mainlythewoodcutting, encroachment uponprotected areas, and coral trade. A copy of the EIAsystemwasdraftedtobeappliedonewiderangeofinvestmentordevelopmentprojects.Jordanisacountrywithlowenergyresources.Mostofitsconsumedenergyimportedfromabroad since Jordan has no oil or gas, which loaded the total budget of the country.Therefore,theneedsofalternativegreenenergyresourcesemerged,andrenewableenergysuchassolarenergyandwindfarmswereonthetopoftheseresources.Thelaterattractedinterests ofdonorsand investors who werechallenged by the significant importance ofJordan for the migratory birds at the global level. Based on that, the ministry ofenvironmentincoordinationwithallrelevantstakeholderspreparedaroughcopyofWindFarmRegulationswhereanintensiveEIAstudiesandmonitoringprogramwereimposed.Ajointworkwith theministryof energy andmineral resourceswas carried to identify thebestlocationsofwindinvestmentinthecontextofmigratorybirds’sensitivityandminimalimpactontheprotectedareasand its landscape.Theministryofpowerhadprepared thefirstdraftofwindfarminvestmentregulationstobediscussedintheparliament.

Target7By2020areasunderagriculture,aquacultureandforestryaremanagedsustainably,ensuringconservationofbiodiversity.

Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

10. TheNationalForestryDepartment/MinistryofAgricultureProgram

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Themandate of forestry department is to conserve forestry resources and tomanage itsustainably.Forthat,dedicateddivisionfor forestmanagement is foundedwithinforestrydepartment.Thedepartmentmandate is toprepareadequate legislationtoensureproperconservationandmanagementofforestryresources.For example, the forestry articles are being reviewed and updated as part of the newagriculture law. In addition to legislative role, the department is responsible of forestconservationbyestablishinganetworkof foreststationsandobserving towers tocontrolviolationsofforestryresourcesortheirmisuse.Nowadaysthereare45forestrystationsand15observingtowersspreadoverthecountry.Thisnetworkiscontinuouslyexpandedasnewhotzonesareidentifiedandnewthreatsforforestry resources are emerged. In addition, a telecommunication network is used tofacilitate communication between forestry officers in the field and officials in theheadquarters.Moreover, biodiversity ismainstreamed in the forestrydepartment activities through thefoundationofbiodiversity andseedcenterdivision,which focusongeneticmaterials andbiodiversityconservation.Forthat,geneticmaterials forabout100speciesof forest treesandrangelandshrubsarebeingcollectedandstored.Thestoredmaterialfromseedcenterand seeds collected locally are used to propagate seedlings in 14 specialized nurseriesdistributed all over Jordan forproper representationofbio‐geographical zones in Jordan,two of these nurseries were founded during the period 2012‐2014. One of these newlyfounded nurseries is dedicated to propagate natural forest trees and rangeland shrubsseedlings only, and produce about 50 thousand seedlings annually. Currently, about 3million seedlings of forest trees and rangeland shrubs are produced annually in allnurseries. Seedlings produced in these nurseries are grown in barren land or used torehabilitatedeterioratedsites.In 2013, more than 4,00ha were planted with about 200,000 forest trees as part of thedepartmentactivities.Inaddition,Morethan1,300,000seedlingsweredistributedin2013.Seedlings were distributed free of charge to public and private institutions as wellindividualstoparticipateingreeningefforts.

Target9By2020,invasivealienspeciesandpathwaysareidentifiedandprioritized,priorityspeciesarecontrolledoreradicated,andmeasuresareinplacetomanage

pathwaystopreventtheirintroductionandestablishment.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

11. ControllingtheInvasiveSpeciesatAzraqWetlandReserve

A critically endangered endemic fish species found in Azraq wetland reserve namedAphaniussirhani is suffering fromanumberof introducedspecies thatarecompeting thefoodandbreedinggrounds.A long termproject aimed to rescue this species andbring itbackfromextinctionundertooktheresponsibilitytocontroltheinvasivespecies.

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Five invasive specieswere identified in Azraq namely:Tillapia zillii,Oreochromis aureus,Acanthobrama lessneri,Cyprinuscarpio,andClariasgariepinus.Thespecific impact on thewetlandhabitatsandtheendemicspecieswasidentifiedthoughadetailedspecificresearchprogram, afterwhich a specific actionplanwas taken toward these invasive species. Theconservationactivitiesmanaged to remove theCommonCarpC.carpio and theCatfishC.gariepinus completely while significantly affecting the population structure of the twoCichlidsT.zilliiandO.auruesthoughacontinuousremovalofadultssameasA.lisseneri.Inadditiontothedirectremoval,somewaterbodieswerecompletelydriedthenleftforfewmonths before receiving water again. After this, the endemic fish populations were re‐established. With continuous monitoring; the endemic species remains the dominantspecies,whiletheinvasivespeciesarestillundercontrol.

Target10By2015,themultipleanthropogenicpressuresoncoralreefs,andothervulnerableecosystemsimpactedbyclimatechangeoroceanacidificationare

minimized,soastomaintaintheirintegrityandfunctioning.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

12. TheMarineBiodiversityConservationinAqaba

TheASEZA/UNDP(2012‐2015)projectaimsatmainstreamingbiodiversityconservationinorder to promote more effective and integrated management of the coastal zone in theAqabaSpecialEconomicZone(ASEZA).Thefourmaincomponentsoftheprojectsare: Development and improvement of knowledge‐management systems for coastal and

marinebiodiversity, Promotionofbiodiversityfriendlyinvestmentanddevelopment, Improvinginstitutionalcapacityforintegratedcoastalzonemanagement Biodiversityconservationandcoralreefprotection.

Mainaccomplishmentstodate: Coralstranslocatedandtransplanted/fixedusingmarinecementatAlMamlah/marine

park: Completionofthetranslocationofcoralcommunitiesfromthenewlocationofthemain

porttotheMarinePark DevelopedtheCapacityDevelopmentPlanfortheinstitutionsengagedinICZM Developedthe"publicitystrategy"thataddressedtheprotectionandsustainingmarine

andcoastalenvironmentinAqaba

Expectedoutputstowardstheendoftheprojectinclude: DevelopingthemarineandcoastalbiodiversitydatabasewithGISsupport. Producinga‘StateoftheCoast’reportthatcoversbiodiversityconservationissues. EvaluatingJordan’smarinebiodiversity(Ecosystemservices). DevelopingaMarineSpatialPlanfortheASEZA. Implementingthecoraltranlocationplan.

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StrategicGoalC:To improve thestatusofbiodiversitybysafeguardingecosystems,speciesandgeneticdiversity

Target11By2020, at least17per centof terrestrial and inlandwater,and10per centofcoastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for

biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitablymanaged, ecologically representative andwell connected systems of protected areas andothereffectivearea‐basedconservationmeasures,andintegratedintothewiderlandscapesandseascapes.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

13. TheNewNationalSpecialConservationAreasNetwork

During the last five years or so, new governance arrangements have arisen in thedesignationandmanagementofprotectedareasacrossJordan.Inadditiontothecoresetofnature reserves established and management by RSCN, other protected areas are beingdeclared by the Ministry of Environment and their management mandates to othergovernment, nongovernment and often community based organizations. These protectedareaswiththeirspecificgovernancearrangementsincludeseveralprimenationalsitessuchasWadi Rum and the Aqaba National Park which Are managed by ASEZA, while othersrepresent numerous add‐on sites with the primary objective to establish and maintainecologicalconnectivitybetweencoresitesandestablishecologicalcorridorswithothernonPAsites,andfinallysafeguardspecificecologicalhotspots(oftensmallerinsizeandlowerindiversity)whichwerenotincludedinthenationalsystemplan.AlotofthesenewsitesareknownasSpecialConservationAreas(SCAs).Thisrepresentsapositivedevelopmentinthe national governance system of the network, however with many challenges andquestions emerging on national integration and management effectiveness. An elaboratediscussionontheprotectedareasnetworkisincludedinsection3:3ofPartI.

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(Source:RSCN,2014)

ThefollowingtablesummarizesthekeycharacteristicoftheSCAs:No

Site

Size

Location

Vegetationtype

Leadagency

Mainmanagementinterventions

1. Al‐ShulehSCA

20km² Irbid(Yarmouk)

‐DeciduousOak‐Watervegetation

Al‐ShulehMunicipality

‐Recreationandecotourism

2. TalAlArba’inSCA

.5km² NorthernGhorRegion

‐Salinevegetation

BabAlSalamWomenCooperative

‐Sustainableagriculture

3. KhyoufSCA 20km² AlBalqaregion

‐Watervegetation‐Steppe

AlKhairandWafaSociety

‐Sustainableagriculture‐Recreation

4. HomretMa’inSCA

40km² DeadSearegion

‐Watervegetation

DevelopmentZonesCompany

‐Tourism‐Eco‐tourism

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‐Tropicalandsaline‐Steppe

(JDZ) ‐Agriculture

5. IbnHammadSCA

15km² Karakregion ‐Watervegetation.‐Tropical

BateerWomenSociety ‐WadiIbnHammadSociety

‐Ecotourism‐Sustainableagriculture

6. AqabaBirdObservatory

1km² Aqabaregion ‐Salinevegetation

ASEZA ‐Ecotourism

7. HimaLayathnehSCA

2km² Petraregion ‐Mediterraneannon‐forest‐Traditionalagriculture‐Recreation‐Nearbyculturaltourism

PTDRA ‐Ecotourism

8. AlMa’awaSCA

1km² Jerashregion ‐Pinevegetation‐Wildlifesanctuary‐NaturalForest(PineandOak)

PAF ‐Wildlifesanctuary

9. RahmaSCA 30km² Aqabaregion ‐Sanddunevegetation‐Desertlandscape‐Livestockgrazing

NA(currently) NA(currently)

10. RoyalBotanicGarden

2km² Jerashregion ‐Pineforest RBG ‐Plantconservation‐Rangelandrehabilitation

14. TheRoyalBotanicalGardenSCATheRBGisoneoftheemergingnongovernmentorganizationsinJordanwithamissiontoconservingnativebiodiversityatthehabitatlevel,establishacentreforscientificresearchandenvironmental education, serveas ademonstration site for sustainabledevelopment,andprovide aunique ecotourismdestination, in addition to the encouragementof soundappliedresearch,thepromotionofgoodpracticesandknowledgeexchange. The RBG site is located at Tell Ar‐Rumman, Jordan, on around 180ha of steep slopesoverlookingtheKingTalalReservoir.Thesitecomprisesaselectionofsignificantsoiltypes,severalwadi(seasonalwash)systems,aperennialfreshwaterstreamandover300metersofelevationchangewithinitsboundaries,availingawiderangeofpossibilitiesforhabitatdevelopment. Over 580 plant species belonging 74 families which represent 23% of thetotalfloraspeciesrecordedinJordan.ThemainprogramsrunningatRBGinclude: Theex‐situconservationofwildplantspeciesthroughthenationalseedbankandnative

nursery. Thedemonstrativere‐creationoffiveoftheprimaryhabitatsinJordan. NationalHerbariumandNationalVirtualherbarium

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CommunityBasedRangelandRehabilitation EstablishmentoftheJordanianPlantRedDataBook PublishingtheNationalStrategyforPlantConservation Thedevelopmentandimplementationofanappliedresearchprogramspecifictoplant

conservationandhabitatrehabilitation. The socioeconomic development of local inhabitants residing within and around the

SCA. The implementation of a targeted educational and environmental awareness raising

programforlocalschools,youthanddecisionmakers. The preparation of good practice guidelines for effective SCAmanagement based on

internationalbestpracticesandknowledge.TheSCAismanagedunderaparticipatoryapproachbyalocaladvisorycommitteeheadedby the local governorwithmembers from the local communities, relatedministries, andnationalresearchinstitutionsandacademicdepartments.Finally,theSCAisgovernedbyasetofagreeduponlanduseguidelineswhicharebasedonthe site’s ecological zoning plan with the objective to ensure long term ecologicalsustainabilityandmaximizethelocalcommunitybenefitsfromthesustainableutilizationofthearea’snaturalresources.

15. ThePetraPAProgram

The Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA) is the prime nationalauthority in charge of the protection and sustainable development of the PetraArcheologicalPark(PAP)andWorldHeritageSite.AnewinitiativehasbeendevelopedbyPDTRA in cooperationwith othernational and local institutionswith the goal todevelopand implementa strategic framework for the inclusionofPAP in thenationalNetworkofProtectedAreasforNaturalHeritageinrecognitionofitsnaturalheritagesignificanceatthenationalandgloballevels.The innovative program addresses key challenges facing Petra today as well harnessingemergingopportunities,including: The fulfillment legalarrangements for the inclusionofPAP in thenationalnetworkof

protectedareasanditsendorsementbythecentralgovernment. The development of the Management Plan for PAP and its buffer zone and its

implementationincludingthebiodiversityresearchandmonitoring. The enhancement of the technical capacities of the PAP team in the fields of natural

heritage management, biodiversity monitoring and law enforcement, ecology basedinterpretationandecotourismdevelopmentandmanagement.

The contribution to the potential nomination Petra asmixedWorld Heritage Site forCultureandNature.

The development of nature based tourism products including the development of anaturebasedtourismstrategy, thecreationofnature trails, interpretation, localguidetraining,andinformationfixtures.

16. WadiRumWorldHeritageProgram

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TheWorldHeritageCommitteeinscribedWadiRumofJordanin2011asamixedpropertydisplayinguniquenaturalbeautyandculturalsignificance.TheinscriptionwasrepresentedaremarkablesuccessforJordan.TheachievementtoatributeoftheeffortsoftheMinistryof Environment, in cooperation with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, theMinistryofTourismandtheUSAID/JordanTourismDevelopmentProject.TheWadiRumprotectedarea,300kmsouthofAmman,encompasses720sqkmofdesertwildernessassociatedwith the iconicsandstone landscapethat ishometoBedouintribesandarangeofdesertwildlife, includingtheArabianOryx.ArchaeologicalfindsintheareaindicatethatWadiRumhasbeeninhabitedasfarbackasprehistorictimes,withitsuniquelandscapesandwatersourcesofferingaplaceofrefugeforthosetravellingfromtheGulftotheLevant.Thenaturallandscapes,theinscriptions,andtheBedouincultureandtraditionlendanintrinsicvaluetothesiteandattracthundredsofthousandsofvisitorsfromacrossthe world. Along with nearby Petra and Aqaba, the site is part of the so‐ called goldentriangleoftourisminthesouthernregion.TheinscriptionontheWorldHeritageontheworldHeritagelistmakesthepropertyofthefirstmixedsitetobeinscribedinthewholeoftheLevantregionandtheArabianPeninsula.Thesiteenjoysmanyopportunitiesforsustainabletourism,localcommunitydevelopmentand empowerment, however, at the same time faces numerous challenges related to itseffective management and long term sustainability. The site’s management plan wasupdated in 2014 and a enhancedparticipative governance systems is beingdeveloped incooperationwithlocalcommunities.

Target12By2020theextinctionofknownthreatenedspecieshasbeenpreventedandtheirconservationstatus,particularlyofthosemostindecline,hasbeenimprovedand

sustained.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

17. TheNationalPlantsRedListThe Royal Botanical Garden – in cooperation with government agencies and academicinstitutions – has been updating the national checklist on plant diversity. The ambitiousstrategicprogramaimstocontinuetheupdateofthenationaldatabaseforplantdiversity.Todatesomemajorprogresshasbeenmadeincluding: Theupdatedchecklistofwildplants. Theestablishmentandupdateofthenationalredlistforplantspecies.Outofthe2,622

species,1073wereassessedbasedon IUCNred list guidelines, and926 speciesweresuccessfully classified on the first red list. RBG will publish the first volume of thenationalredlistin2014,followedbytwomorevolumescontainingthefullnationallistintheyears2015and2016respectively.

Thedevelopmentofanannotatedcheckliststarting2015. Theestablishmentofanationalweb‐baseddatabaseforplantspecies.Thiswasalready

initiatedin2013andwillfollowalongtermprogram.

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Theidentificationandmaintenanceofanationalblacklistofnon‐nativeplantsstarting2014.

Target13By2020,thegeneticdiversityofcultivatedplantsandfarmedanddomesticatedanimalsandofwildrelatives,includingothersocio‐economicallyaswellas

culturallyvaluablespecies,ismaintained,andstrategieshavebeendevelopedandimplementedforminimizinggeneticerosionandsafeguardingtheirgeneticdiversity.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

18. NCARENationalConservationandUtilizationofPlantGeneticResources(PGR)

NCAREhasrecentlypreparedanationalbaselinestudyandastrategyunderanFAOprojecttitled: “Optimizing the Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture forAdaptation to Climate Change”. This study aims at adopting and implementing a properaction plan for PGRFA, and includes a proposal for establishing National InformationSharingMechanismswhichwill improve theability tomakedecisionsaboutplantgeneticresources, improve the quality of information about plant genetic resources status anddynamics,andincreasetheabilitytomonitorchangesinplantgeneticresourcesovertime.ThestudyisexpectedtobeadoptedbyNCAREbiodiversitydirectorateandimplementedin2015.Jordan established a Genetic Resources Unit (GRU) in 1993 at NCARE\Ministry ofAgriculture.Currently,thisunithasflourishedintoafulldirectorate,housing3distinctivedepartments: the Medicinal and Herbal Plant Department, the Plant Genetic Resources(PGR) Department, and the Plant Biodiversity Department. The objectives of the GeneticResourcesUnitare: CollectionofplantgeneticresourcesinJordan. Evaluation, documentation, conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic

resourcesinaccordancewithinternationalrules. Promotionof the exchange of plant genetic resourcematerial and information locally

andinternationally. Coordinationofcropgeneticresourceactivities(research,conservation insituandex‐

situ,publicawareness,intellectualpropertyandbenefitsharing). Development of relevant strategic actionplans andpolicies as thenational center for

plantgeneticresourcesinJordan. PGRmultiplication,propagationandbreeding.ThefigurebelowincludesthenumberofPGRFASeedsConservedatNCARENationalGeneBank:

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19. TheSeedCentreattheForestryDepartment/MinistryofAgricultureTheForestryDepartment/MinistryofAgriculturehasestablishedaSeedCenterconsistingof four subunits: seed collection, seed extraction, seed testing, and cold storage.The coldstorage gene bank at the Seed Center maintains a vast range of genetic resources fromforest trees and pastoral shrubs in medium term storage. Activities include collectingindigenous and threatened species, documenting accompanying data, and carrying outexperimentstodeterminebestgerminationproceduresforeachspecies.The Seed Center has seeds of about 100 forest trees and rangeland shrubs speciespreserved,andprovidesforestnurserieswithseedseveryyear.

20. Ecosystemconservation‐localHoneybees&biodiversity–AcasestudyfromNCAREThe Bee Research Department at NCARE confirmed through its research that the freebenefits derived from pollination obtained by ecosystem services provided by ourendogenousinsects,includinghoneybeeimprovetheproductivityandquality.Accordingtothestudiesoutcomes,thevalueofecosystemservicesprovidedbyinsectsto(34)selectedcropstoJordanianeconomywas(33%)ofthetotalvalueofthesecropsproduction,andtheapproximatevalueofestimationduetohoneybeepollinationwas(27%)oftheirtotalvaluewhichwas(26.3)timesmorethatthetotalvalueofJordandomestichoneyproduction.Self‐Sufficiency outcomes results indicate that scenario of losing insects pollination willdirectlyaffectat least35%of localcropproductionthatwereselectedandthiswillharmour food security.Moreover, it is becoming evident that there is a crucial need to attractyoung generation’s attention to the value of honeybees in achieving food security andstabilityofecosystemsconservation.Duetotheworldwidedeclineofhoneybeepopulation,andthedecreasingnumberofbeekeepers,NCAREestablishedaBeeResearchDepartmentwhichismandatedtoconservethelocalhoneybeesApism.syriaca,tostudyitsbehavior,breeding,andselection.During the last 10 years this department distributed for free over 20,000 queens’ cellswhichhadhelpedintheconservationofthisimportanthoneybeegeneticresource.Further,

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the Department published 4 books and booklets; one of which was “Honeybees andMedicinalPlantsofJordan”whichdemonstratesthestrongrelationshipbetweenhoneybeesandwild flora. The program also included a schools’ awareness program targeting 1,200classeswithover42,000studentsfromJordan,IraqandPalestine.Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning,knowledgemanagementandcapacitybuilding.

Target18By2020,thetraditionalknowledge,innovationsandpracticesofindigenousandlocalcommunitiesrelevantfortheconservationandsustainableuseof

biodiversity,andtheircustomaryuseofbiologicalresources,arerespected,subjecttonationallegislationandrelevantinternationalobligations,andfullyintegratedandreflectedintheimplementationoftheConventionwiththefullandeffectiveparticipationofindigenousandlocalcommunities,atallrelevantlevels.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

21. Community‐basedRangelandRehabilitation:ACaseStudyfromTallAr‐RummanThe overarching goal of the Community–Based Rangeland Rehabilitation Project (CBRR)developed and managed by RBG, is to improve local livelihoods through sustainableecosystem management. This is being achieved through the establishment of suitableenvironmentally friendly and sustainable income generation programs according to thecommunityneeds.BeforeinitiatingtheCBRR,herdersweregrazingillegallyallyearround,andoftencutthefencearoundthebotanicgardenfortheirlivestock.When RBG started the initiative, planswere adopted to restore the plant cover, conductvegetationsurveysandundertakebiomassestimates,withtheexclusionoflivestock.Theseactions were facedwith local opposition, which led to the adoption of an action plan tosupply substitute forage to the livestock owners in compensation of the prohibition oflivestockadmissiontothesite.The local community was involved in the project from the beginning. This includedparticipating in problem definition, developing possible solutions, identifying alternativegrazingscenariosandtimingofthegrazingactivities.Allofthesewerediscussedduringthepublicmeetingswithlivestockownersandkeypersonnelinthearea.Through the CBRR initiative, 42 families benefit through the various activities of herdsmanagement, rotational grazing. As a result, the Biomass of the protected site increasedfrom50tonstoover100tonsandtheplantspeciesincreasedfrom436to580species.TheRBG'sCBRRprogramwasidentifiedin2012as"oneofthebestideasontheplanet"byKatervaAwardCouncilexperts inglobal innovation,progressandingenuity.Theprogramwasalsooneof16semi‐finalistsprojects for theLandforLifeAward in2013,outof137projects.TheCBRRwillbereplicatedinotherareas, includingthedevelopmentofasetofsustainablegrazingprotocolsthatcanbeusedtoimprovethequalityofrangelandhabitatsandthelivelihoodsofpastoraliststhroughouttheregion.

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22. TheAmmanDeclarationonInnovatingHima

This declaration was adopted in a regional workshop in Amman convened by the IUCNROWAoffice.AlHimaisanIslamictraditionthathasgovernedandconservednaturalresourcesinArabiccountries forthousandsofyears.Hima isabroadconceptwithadiversityofapplications,butatitsheartistherecognitionofnatureasalivingsystemandnotmerelyacommodity.Hima is a comprehensive package of governance, conservation, science andmarkets thatbuildsonandreinforcessocial,culturalandhumancapital.The startingpoint for restoring rangelands and revivingHima is to address social ratherthantechnologicalconstraints.RevivingHima isthereforeaprocessratherthananactionandwhilstitishighlycost‐effective,itisalsohighlydemandingofskills;particularlyskillsfor negotiation, participation and consensus building. Reviving Hima requires extensivedialogue between communities, government, and other stakeholders to reach agreementover policies and shared governance of natural resources at local, national and regionallevel.Anumberof examplesof revivingHimaexist in theArab region,demonstrating commonprinciples as well as local adaptations. Evidence shows that Hima is a way to optimizemanagement of the rangelands (and other land use types) and deliver economic andenvironmental benefits, as well as associated social benefits, and contribute to relevantinternationaltargets.TomovefromscatteredgoodpracticestowardsmoresystematicscaleupofHimarequiresthefollowing: Strengthenlandstewardshipandcommunaltenure; Strengthenscientificandeconomicevidenceandlocalknowledgetoprovidesystematic

monitoringforqualityassurance; Create an enabling environment of policy and institutional support and address the

cross‐sectoralnatureofHima; DevelopincentivesandrewardsforthemultipleanddiversebenefitsofHima; Build capacity and awareness in public institutions and communities, with particular

focusontheskillsofparticipation,empowermentandmonitoring; Build partnerships and networks for experience sharing, knowledge and capacity

building,andtomaximizethetransboundaryandinternationalbenefitsofHima; Initiateappropriatestepsforresourcemobilization.

Target19By2020,knowledge,thesciencebaseandtechnologiesrelatingtobiodiversity,itsvalues,functioning,statusandtrends,andtheconsequencesofitsloss,are

improved,widelysharedandtransferred,andapplied.Nationalprogressunderthisglobaltargetisrepresentedbythefollowing:

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23. TheRSCNAjlounNatureAcademy

AstrategicgoalofRSCN’sistobuildupthecapacityofitspersonnelandpartnersthroughastructuredcapacitybuildingprogramwhichstartedinlate1990stargetingpartnersatthenational and regional levels. These programs focus on the protected area management,researchmethods and techniques, socio‐economicdevelopmentof local communities anditsrelationwithprotectedareas,projectmanagement,andothersupporting toolsneededincludingtrainingskills,proposalwriting,technicalwriting,andpublicawarenessprogram.In2008,RSCNadoptedanewtransformationstrategy,wheretrainingandcapacitybuildingremainedastrategicpriority.Basedon that, itwasdecidedthat the trainingandcapacitybuildingbecomesastandaloneprogramunderwhatisplannedtobe:theAjlounAcademyfor vocational training. A regional needs assessment was carried out early in 2011 toaddressthetrainingneedsofallpartners.Threemaintopicswereidentifiedasapriorityforthe training program. These are: Protected AreaManagement, Biodiversity Conservation,andSocioeconomicDevelopment.The academywill be developed to accredit its curricula/certificate at international level.Three curricula are being developed in corporationwith an international institution. Theprotected area management program is being developed in cooperation with MontanaUniversity; while the other two on biodiversity and socioeconomic development incooperationwiththeAlfredToepferakademiefürnaturschutz.AstateoftheartfacilitywasbuiltinAjlounonanoldabandonedquarry,withthecapacityof100students.Thebuildingisdesignedtohostmorethanonecourseatatime.In conclusion, allof thecapacitybuildingeffortswillbe consolidated ina central trainingunit at RSCN, which will focus on the these three programs, in addition to other shortcourses covering thesupportingskillsneeded forprotectedareamanagementandnatureconservation.

24. JordanEnvironmentalInformationSystemTheobjectiveof JEIS is toserveasa functionalvirtualplatform for collecting,processing,analyzinganddisseminatinginformationtosupporttheconnectivitybetweentheresearchandpolicymakingforthemanagementrelatedtothethreeRioconventions(CBD,UNCCD&UNFCCC) in Jordan, as well as to provide this information to various stakeholders in atimelyandcomprehensiveway.TheProjectwasfundedbytheGlobalEnvironmentFacility(GEF) and partially by the government of Jordan; and was implemented by the UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram(UNDP‐Jordan)andMoEnv.Thestructureoftheplatformiscomprisedof:adirectoryofnationalinstitutionsinvolvedinthe management of the environment, a catalogue of information needs and reportingrequirements for the conventions, a catalogue of data and information resources, adirectory of experts and facilities, and a documentation system. Accomplishments as ofMarch2013: Definedcomponentsandinfrastructureoftheproposedplatform. Implementedplatformcomponents&infrastructure. Trained personnel in modern information management to capture, develop, and

maintaintheplatformanddisseminationofinformationproducts.

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Developedadetailedtrainingmanualandonlinehelpfunctionalitytomeetthetrainingrequirementsofplatformusers.

Proposedaframeworkforfurtherdevelopmentandexpansionoftheplatform.

25. TheNationalBiodiversityInformationManagementSystem(BIMS)Thedevelopmentofanationalsystemforbiodiversityinformationmanagementhasbeenanationalpriority for a long time.A groupof national institutions includingMoEnv,RSCN,MoTA,ASEZA,PDTRAandMoMAcametogetherwithtechnicalandfinancialsupportfromGEFandUNDPtodesignandimplementthefirstnationalmanagementinformationsystemsspecialized in biodiversity. The principal objective of the initiative is to develop andmaintainanationalsystemforbiodiversityinformationandamonitoringsystemtohostedbytheRoyalSocietyfortheConservationofNature(RSCN)inclosecollaborationwithkeynationalstakeholdersandbeneficiaries. TheBIMS isbeingdevelopedonaGISplatform,alignedwith theRSCNnationalDatabaseandintegratedwithdatabasesthatexistforeachofthepilotPAsselectedfortheprograminWadi Rum, Petra and Dibbin. The ultimate goal is to develop a nationally consolidatedbiodiversity information system accessible to stakeholders from the Government, CivilSocietyand thePrivateSector.The resultsof thisprogramare set to informnationalandregionalLandUsePlans,serveasaplatformfordecision‐making,andasasourceofuptodate knowledge on biodiversity. The program started in 2013 and is foreseen continuethrough2015.

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7.3ProposedstrategicactionstowardsanimprovednationalalignmentapproachTheministryofenvironmentisintheprocessofreviewinganddevelopingthegovernancearrangements related to the national coordination, communication and reporting on thenationalbiodiversityprogram.Theseinclude: The enhancement of the role of the national coordinationmechanisms, primarily the

nationalbiodiversitycommittee.

Encourage and facilitate the inter‐institutional collaboration in the various fields of

biodiversitywhileallowingformorespecialization.

The finalization of the review of the NBSAP andmore importantly the adoption of a

clearnationalmechanismforitsimplementationandmonitoring.Thisalsoincludesthedevelopmentof a clear financing strategy for theplan implementation from local andexternalsources.

Theadoptionofanationalcapacitybuildingprogramfortheministryanditsassociated

partners and stakeholders from the government, civil society, local communities andprivatesector.

Enhance the participation and involvement of national stakeholders and particularly

localcommunitiesinthedesign,implementationandevaluationofnationalbiodiversitystrategiesandprogramsasthecentralandsitebaselevels.Thisshouldincludeaclearpolicy on sharing the benefits of biodiversity across all relevant stakeholders andinterestgroups.

Theadoptionofanagreeduponfinancingplan for the implementationof thedelivery

on thevariousglobal targets related tobiodiversity conservation.This should includebothnationalaswellinternationalsourcesoffundingandtechnicalcooperation.

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SectionEight:SynthesisonJordancontributiontowardstherelevantMDGs

8:1RelevanceoftheconventiontothebroadernationalobjectivesIn Jordan, the first National MDG report was released in 2004 and made an effectivecontribution to the country’s policy‐making as the goals, targets and indicators wereadaptedandalignedwithnationalplansanddevelopmentpriorities.The Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and in closeconsultations with UN agencies, civil society organizations and relevant stakeholders,launched in 2010, Jordan’s SecondNationalMDGReport titled “Keeping the Promise andAchievingAspirations”. The report shows Jordan’sprogress towards achieving theMDG’sandfocusesonthestepsrequiredfortheupcomingstagetomeetthegoalsby2015.Italsoservesasareferenceinformingnationaldevelopmentplans.Jordan’ssecondMDGReportshowedthatthecountryisontherighttracktowardsmeetingmostoftheMDGtargets.Inparticular,MDG2hasbeenachievedandachievementofMDG5and 6 is possible. Targeted policy actions are needed to achieve MDG 1, 3, 4 and 7. Ingeneral, significant challenges still impede progress particularly in light of therepercussionsoftheglobaleconomiccrisesanditsimpactoneconomicgrowthrates,publicdebt, government revenues and unemployment rates. With only 5 years to achieve theMDG’s,amoreholisticapproachneedstobeadopted.In2006Jordanreleasedtwoimportantdocumentsthatarticulatedthevisionofthecountryanddevelopmentplanning,namelythe“NationalAgenda”andthe"WeareallJordan".Thisvisionwasoperationalized intoathree‐yearNationalExecutiveProgram(NEP)specifyingpolicies, programs and projects for government institutions. Other national programsfocusedonbuildingthecapacityoftheMinistryofPlanningandInternationalCooperation,whichinchargeoftheirmonitoringandevaluation,inincorporatingMDGindicatorswithintheNEP.However, the above efforts needed to be placed within an overall framework and besupported with comprehensive coordination mechanisms that enable formulation ofcoordinated policies at the national, sectoral and local levels. Key to achieving this is toprovidetheneededdataandanalysisandgeneratetheknowledgebaseforpolicy‐making.Therefore, several technical and institutional support programs are being provided byinternationalpartners tohelp theMoPICestablishan effectivemonitoring framework forMDG’sintheNEP.

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8.2NationalEffortsRelatedtoMDG7In Jordan, though a couple of Goal 7 targets have been achieved, overall the timelyachievementofGoal7appearsdifficultgiven thedauntingchallenges.Theserelate to theacutewater scarcity, high and still rising energy demand and prices, the shortfall on thesanitationtarget,biodiversitydepletion,deforestationlevels,increasingpollutionofairandground water, inadequate waste management, prospects of climate change and globalwarming, in addition to the potential repercussions of the financial crisis on theimplementationofmegaenvironmentalpreservationprojects.Accordingto2009DoSdata,basic energy consumption in 2008 increased by 47.1% compared to 2000, while thepopulationincreasedby21.4%duringthesameperiod.After its accession to theMontreal Protocol on Substances thatDeplete theOzoneLayer,Jordanhasfulfilleditscommitmenttobantheconsumptionofozone‐depletingsubstancesand replace themwith environmentally‐friendlymaterials. It has also adopted numerouspolicies to limit CO2 emissions. No radical change has been noted in the volume ofgreenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, but greenhouse gasemissions are likely to be considerably reduced in case of further expansion in thereplacementofcrudeoilandheavyfuelwithnaturalgas.Anotherpositivedevelopmentrelatestoaccesstopotablewaterasnotwithstandingthelowavailabilityofwaterresources,by2008Jordanhadbeenabletoconnect98.41%housesandcommunity clusters to public water networks. The proportion of the population with aconnectiontoasewagenetworkalsoincreasedfrom48%in2001to62.2%in2008,butatthisrate,achievementofthetargetof70%useby2015appearsimprobable.Several recent studies predict the negative impact of climate change on Jordan. Possiblechangesincluderisingtemperaturesanddecreasingrainfalls,whichwillleadtoadecreasein surface water sources and groundwater, reduce agricultural productivity and havemultiplehealthimpacts.Controllingbiodiversitydepletion in Jordanremainsadifficultandcomplicatedissue,dueto water scarcity and increasing pollution of water, soil and air in addition to the otherpotentialnegativeimpactsofclimatechange.Despiteaslightimprovementwithterrestrialandmarineprotectedareascovering1.4%ofthe total square area of Jordan in 2014, compared to 0.44% in 2004, the numbers ofendangeredspeciescontinuetodeclinesignificantly.