By Sami Dimassi, UNEP Representative and Regional Director for West Asia.
The region of West Asia has historically served as a corridor for human transformations, from migrations to trade and other activities, thanks to its location at the crossroads of the African, Asian, and European continents. Additionally, the region’s natural and mineral resources positioned it at the forefront of prehistoric economies due to materials that formed the building blocks of modern technology (such as copper, tin, lead, silver, and iron). In the modern era, petroleum has placed the region at the center of global trade policies.
The region has always been characterized by diverse climatic conditions and topographical features, along with a mix of different ethnic groups. Deserts and coastal hydrocarbon reserves are common features of many countries, but mountainous terrain also dominates some areas. The waters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers have eroded surrounding mountain rocks and carried sediments to form the Fertile Crescent, the birthplace of agriculture and animal domestication, where humans transitioned from hunting to food production and urban settlement.
The economic growth in the region has brought benefits to its people, but it has also posed challenges to their well-being, ecosystems, and biodiversity. The shift from traditional practices to globalization, industrialization, and market-oriented agriculture has increased resource consumption, leading to land use changes and habitat degradation. Moreover, unsustainable land-use practices—such as deforestation, overhunting, and mining—hinder sustainable development. Human activities, including agricultural expansion, logging, and urban development, contribute to deforestation, soil quality decline due to erosion and nutrient depletion, and loss of organic matter. Additionally, improper agricultural and industrial practices can result in salinization, as well as water and air pollution.
Today, West Asia has limited agricultural productivity potential, with only 5% of its land being arable. High levels of water stress have led to conflicts and competition among users. These conflicts, coupled with numerous wars in the region, have triggered large-scale displacement of people both within and across countries, intensifying pressures on ecosystems and natural resources while hindering conservation efforts. The region’s arid climate exacerbates the situation, making water and arable land increasingly valuable and scarce resources. These current risks are further compounded by looming climate change, which brings rising sea levels, desertification, freshwater scarcity and salinization, and an increase in dust storms—challenges that are particularly severe in West Asia.
Land degradation, alongside desertification, is considered the most pressing challenge facing West Asian countries today. Poor land management, conflicts, and pollution from multiple sources have diminished land productivity, increasing the risk of food insecurity. Land degradation accelerates soil salinization, wind erosion, and wetland transformation into drylands, further reducing the land’s capacity to retain freshwater. This is a crucial issue, as West Asia has already exceeded its natural capacity to meet water demand—only 4 out of 12 countries surpass the water scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters per capita annually. Land degradation can also undermine livelihoods, contribute to involuntary migration, and increase the risk of violent conflicts, particularly in such a fragile region.
In 2021, the United Nations General Assembly declared the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The “Decade of Restoration” is a global call to halt ecosystem degradation and restore ecosystems to achieve global goals for people and nature. Its objective is to mobilize a broad and powerful global movement to accelerate restoration efforts and set the world on a sustainable path, including providing political momentum and implementing thousands of initiatives on the ground.
To address the causes of habitat and ecosystem degradation and enhance conservation and restoration, UNEP works to strengthen cooperation, develop appropriate tools with its partners, share and disseminate best practices, and support cross-sectoral collaboration in ecosystem management. This includes supporting national biodiversity strategies, ensuring policy coherence, and mobilizing resources to address environmental issues. UNEP has also fostered partnerships to institutionalize the ecosystem-based approach, support local communities, and assist countries in meeting their commitments under international environmental agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)—especially in implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
Despite efforts to integrate biodiversity and habitat restoration into sectoral policies, significant gaps remain in capacity and implementation. Policy-making must be dynamic and collaborative, requiring trust-building, stakeholder engagement, and institutional frameworks that address the complex interactions between biodiversity conservation, habitat protection, and human well-being. Policies must also reflect scientific advancements and technological innovations while improving knowledge of biodiversity trends and status.
Policy coherence is essential for properly allocating resources and investments in conservation efforts, preventing duplication across sectors, avoiding conflicts, and ensuring the sustainability of decisions and actions in the region. Finally, protected areas are crucial, but they need further development, as many key biodiversity areas remain unprotected, and their management and funding are sometimes insufficient.
For more information, check UNEP’s The State of Biodiversity in West Asia
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