Foreword

BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN NOOR

   The Publication of this Jordan Country Study on Biological Diversity represents our fattest and most   substantial national commitment to the International Convention of Biological Diversity (JCBD), which was ratified by Jordan in 1992. Our rapid implementation of the JCBD reflects the importance we attach to working classify with partners around the world for the goal of preserving the biodiversity of our earth’s species. 

This volume is meaningful and symbolic in several ways. It thoroughly documents Jordan’s biological resources and recommends actions to protect those resources. It also transcends the immediate imperative of protecting our divers species, to reflect some of the wider dimensions and ancient values of our people and country.

Jordan’s biodiversity is consequence of our land’s bountiful Location at the junction of three continents. In retrospect, the reality of bringing together diverse ecosystems, peoples and cultures from other parts of the world has bequeathed to us two dimensions that define Jordan today: some unique and beautify land and marine environments, and an appreciation for the value of interaction with other lands and peoples.

The fascinating biodivesity of our country, is characterized by some fragility, however, due to our semi-arid climate, limited water and fertile land resources, high population growth rate, and rapid pace of economic development. This study addresses those dangers in its key chapters, identifies priority issues, and recommends specific actions that should be taken. While acknowledging the many special attributes of our land, the Study also insists on protecting and further developing them, through a strategy that is at once comprehensive, realistic and action-oriented.

Two critical factors – technical expertise and pontifical will-are required to achieve the goals set out in the Study and both are present in Jordan today. In addition, there is a growing awareness among Jordanians that protecting the total diversity of our natural environment- human, fauna and flora-is approve means of ensuring one’s own well-being and that of future generations, Safeguarding our biological diversity also can resift in major economic, medicinal and environmental protection benefits. Our ancestors’ use of various indigenous plants for curative and therapeutic purposes can now be expanded into an important component of our national economy. This Study pints out some of the ways in which this could be accomplished.

On behalf of my countrymen and women, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the team of Jordanian experts who have worked for so many years to produce this pioneering Study. We see it as a continuation of the national effort that was initiated with the publication of Jordan’s environmental protection strategy in 1991, and also as a model for future studies that might bring together Jordanians with their colleagues from other countries in the region and throughout the world to work for a common goal.

نور الحسين