Amman, Sep. 29 (Petra) – The Royal Scientific Society (RSS) on Monday convened a national consultative workshop under the title "Adopting Land Degradation Indicators and Integrating Them into Degradation Monitoring and Decision Support Systems," within the project "Achieving Degraded Land Neutrality Targets in Northern Jordan," funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and overseen by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The workshop aimed to foster national dialogue among stakeholders, including land degradation neutrality specialists and geographic information systems (GIS) experts, to adopt national indicators aligned with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Target 15.3.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, in line with Jordan’s national priorities.
Sessions focused on building technical capacity in using remote sensing and GIS technologies to monitor degradation and support data-driven decision-making.
Director of the Water and Environment Center at the RSS, Moayyad Sayed, underscored the importance of the project as the first comprehensive national initiative to establish an integrated system for monitoring land degradation and supporting decision-making in line with Sustainable Development Goal 15.3 on achieving degradation neutrality. He highlighted the Society’s role in linking scientific research with national policies through digital tools and modern technologies to enhance natural resource management and combat desertification.
FAO Representative Talal Fayez said the project marks a qualitative shift in national efforts to balance development requirements with ecosystem preservation. He stressed that adopting standardized, measurable scientific indicators is a cornerstone for monitoring degradation and developing strategic response plans.
Project Director Abdullah Kloub outlined the project’s objectives, phases, and expected outcomes, emphasizing the need for a unified national database to provide decision-makers with accurate scientific evidence.
Participants from government entities, academia, civil society, and the private sector attended technical and interactive sessions covering degradation neutrality concepts, decision support systems, and applications of remote sensing and GIS technologies to monitor and analyze spatial data.
The workshop concluded with recommendations to identify priority national indicators, integrate them into a national monitoring system, improve data sharing, and enhance transparency and access to information.
This initiative reflects the Royal Scientific Society’s ongoing commitment to supporting national environmental policies, promoting sustainable land management, and applying advanced digital tools to safeguard Jordan’s natural resources for future generations.
//Petra// AJ
