AMMAN — Jordan is moving ahead with an ambitious agenda to strengthen biodiversity protection through the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan through 2030, in line with the global Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022, a senior environment official said on Thursday.

 

Director of the Nature Protection Department at the Ministry of Environment Bilal Qteishat said that the Kingdom has fulfilled its international commitments by preparing and updating the strategy in accordance with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

He said that technical and procedural frameworks governing the management of nature reserves have been further developed to enhance their efficiency and bring them into line with international best practices, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 

Qteishat said that the establishment of nature reserves in Jordan dates back to the 1970s, following Royal directives by His majesty the late King Hussein, with the creation of the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve as the Kingdom’s first protected area.

 

The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature continues to manage Shaumari and other reserves under an official mandate from the Ministry of Environment, he added.

 

Qteishat noted that the 2015 national strategy contributed to increasing the proportion of protected land from 1.4 per cent to 4 per cent of the Kingdom’s total area.

 

He stressed that the value of reserves is not measured by size alone, but by their role in representing and safeguarding diverse ecosystems and vegetation patterns based on geographical distribution and threat levels.

 

A 2018 review of the strategy implementation showed that terrestrial protected areas expanded further to 5.4 per cent of the Kingdom’s area, surpassing the national target and reflecting the effectiveness of institutional partnerships and national conservation efforts, he said.

 

Qteishat also pointed to Royal directives issued in 2020 to establish the Aqaba Marine Reserve, the first marine protected area in Jordan, extending seven kilometres along the Jordanian coastline of Aqaba.

 

He said that the reserve aims to protect marine ecosystems while supporting sustainable eco-tourism.

 

He said the updated national strategy and its action plan seek to expand protected areas to 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s total area in the coming period, reinforcing Jordan’s commitment to biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources for future generations.