Al-Bireh – The Environment Quality Authority launched today, Wednesday, the process of preparing the Seventh National Report on Biodiversity in Palestine, through the project “Water and Environment Support – Biodiversity and Climate Action (WES-BCA)”, funded by the European Union and implemented in a number of Mediterranean countries.
The launch of the preparation process of the report took place via videoconference, with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Environment Quality Authority, Engineer Ahmad Abu Zaher, and a specialized staff from the Authority, in addition to a representative of the European Union, the project director Professor Michael Skoulos, and international experts.
The participants affirmed the importance of the report in strengthening national efforts aimed at protecting biodiversity, and in fulfilling the international commitments of the State of Palestine in this field, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the related Mediterranean commitments.
The Environment Quality Authority clarified that a team of international and local experts will provide the necessary technical support for the preparation of the report, in a way that enables Palestine to submit it to the competent international bodies, in fulfillment of the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which the State of Palestine acceded to in 2016.
The project also aims, in its other component, to support the protection of ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin, to enhance the sustainable management of natural resources, and to reduce the use of plastics, especially single-use plastics.
The Seventh National Report on Biodiversity is expected to be completed by February 2026.
WES-BCA Project
The project “Water and Environment Support – Biodiversity and Climate Action (WES-BCA)” is implemented in the Southern Neighbourhood countries with funding from the European Union, as a continuation of the previous WES project. The project aims to enhance environmental protection, restore biodiversity, and improve the management of scarce water resources, in addition to strengthening the capacity to adapt to climate change in the Mediterranean region. It also seeks to support the formulation and enforcement of related policies in partner countries, as well as to strengthen the two regional policy frameworks: the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Barcelona Convention.