Amman, Feb. 5 (Petra) – Jordan’s protected areas expanded from 1.4 percent to 4 percent of the Kingdom’s total area under the 2015 national strategy, reflecting the impact of national efforts to conserve biodiversity, said Belal Qteishat, Director of the Nature Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Environment.

Qteishat told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) on Thursday that the updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan through 2030 aims to raise protected areas to 10 percent of Jordan’s total area in the coming phase, reinforcing the Kingdom’s commitment to biodiversity conservation and the sustainability of natural resources for future generations. He said Jordan continues to take concrete steps to strengthen biodiversity protection through the implementation of the strategy and its action plan, in line with the global Kunming–Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022.

He stressed that the importance of protected areas lies not only in their geographic size but also in their role in representing and safeguarding diverse plant species and ecosystem types, based on fair geographic distribution and levels of environmental threat.

A 2018 review of the strategy’s implementation showed that nature reserves expanded to cover 5.4 percent of the Kingdom’s total area, exceeding the declared national target and reflecting the effectiveness of national efforts and institutional partnerships, Qteishat said.

Qteishat said the Kingdom has fulfilled its international obligations 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 noted that technical and operational procedures for managing protected areas have been upgraded to improve efficiency and align with global best practices.

He added that the establishment of nature reserves in Jordan dates back to the 1970s, following royal directives by the late King Hussein bin Talal, with Shaumari Wildlife Reserve established as the Kingdom’s first protected area. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature continues to manage it and other reserves under official delegation from the Ministry of Environment.

Qteishat also pointed to the 2020 royal directives to establish Aqaba Marine Reserve, Jordan’s first marine protected area, extending seven kilometers along the Kingdom’s coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba, aimed at protecting marine ecosystems and promoting sustainable eco-tourism.

//Petra// NQ