Cairo, Oct. 1 (Petra) - Minister of Environment Aiman Suleiman said rangeland sustainability is "vital" for achieving regional food and water security, soil protection, and community resilience.

The minister's call came during the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) 37th session at the Arab League headquarters on Thursday.

The session examined regional threats such as drought, climate change, land degradation, and overgrazing.

As for Jordan, an arid to semi-arid country dominated by desert land, Suleiman said the Kingdom faces "severe water scarcity and recurring droughts," making rangeland management a national priority across government ministries, academic institutions, and local communities.

Jordan is "actively" targeting land degradation neutrality by 2030, aligning its efforts with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, according to the minister.

He noted that the Jordanian experience combines technical and scientific measures with community-led initiatives and steps to harness traditional knowledge and practices.

He highlighted various national programs and projects aimed at rehabilitating terrestrial ecosystems in the Kingdom's Badia and protecting rangelands, water resources, and wildlife, alongside initiatives to combat desertification and rehabilitate degraded areas.

Drawing attention to the national afforestation plan, he said this scheme targets planting 10 million trees and fosters partnerships with the private sector and civil society organizations.

He also cited efforts to expand rainwater harvesting, adopt modern irrigation techniques, and reuse treated wastewater to adapt to water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions.

As for other primary initiatives, he said Jordan seeks to boost regional collaboration by partnering with Egypt on the Healthy Ecosystems for Rangeland Development project to boost joint environmental protection.

Looking ahead to the UN-declared International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026, Suleiman proposed four pillars for Arab cooperation: sustainable grazing management, empowering local communities and youth, deploying remote sensing and spatial data to monitor soil health, and securing climate finance to scale pilot projects into regional strategies.

//Petra// HA