Over 100 participants from 20 governments in the Middle East and North Africa region came together in January 2021 to discuss the urgent need for increased ocean protection to combat the escalating climate crisis and dramatic biodiversity loss worldwide. The virtual regional workshop was convened by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The workshop outlined the benefits to people and the planet of an ambitious target to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and sea by 2030 and the critical importance of a robust new High Seas treaty to deliver that goal.
The workshop provided an opportunity for key decision-makers in the region to share their ideas and views on how to achieve ambitious ocean conservation outcomes and aimed to unite countries in the Middle East and North Africa to take advantage of once in a generation opportunity to call for increased ocean protection.
This virtual workshop followed an earlier in-person event convened by IFAW and supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts on November 6-7, 2019, when representatives from 19 Middle East countries met in Amman, Jordan for a two-part workshop focused on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and high seas treaty negotiations (BBNJ).