The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a powerful tool for assessing future projects and initiatives to avoid their negative consequences on biodiversity and the environment in the early stages. To examine how project developers and planners can maximize the full value of EIAs to manage biodiversity risks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this chapter evaluates the adverse impacts of three major projects on the biodiversity of the Tigris and Euphrates river basin: the Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (GAP) project in Türkiye; the Tropical Water Projects in Iran; and drainage projects in Iraq. The chapter illustrates how the lack of a comprehensive EIA in water projects on the Tigris and Euphrates river basin has had diverse and adverse consequences on the environment and biodiversity of the basin. The chapter then provides insights into how the EIA could be enhanced in current and future developments in the basin by improving legal frameworks at the national level, increasing institutional capability and integrating technological advancement into the EIA.

The aim of this chapter is to explore issues around UNESCO World Heritage sites, especially relating to biodiversity in the MENA region. It discusses challenges to the effective conservation and protection of heritage sites and the need for a holistic approach to conservation. Sections address the following: the fifty-year institutional development of UNESCO World Heritage, leading to the current situation of urgent action needed on climate change and the Sustainable Development Agenda 2015–30; World Heritage in the MENA region, especially biodiversity issues; and related legal, policy, and regulatory issues of biodiversity protection, including prospects for reviving intangible knowledge, and their relation to the Sustainable Development Goals 11, 13, and 15. Conclusions and recommendations address prospects for biodiversity and World Heritage protection in the region.

The One Health framework has gained more importance in recent years, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the rise of other zoonotic diseases. However, complexities arise in the application of the One Health approach within the context of a global public health disease outbreak, especially in a culturally rich, as well as economically and politically distinctive region such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Against this background, the chapter asks: What are the limits of the effective implementation of the One Health framework in the MENA region? This chapter examines this question through the theoretical lens of Substantive Legal Effectiveness (SLE), which suggests that law’s failure to reflect the diverse identities, needs, and contexts of all subject to the law, especially those who are already socially, economically, ethnically and/or historically marginalized, affects law’s effectiveness. While SLE offers a comprehensive and distinctive overarching framework to examine the limits of the One Health Framework in the MENA region, the chapter also draws upon the theoretical contributions of decolonial studies, specifically on the subject of decolonization of health and ecological knowledges.

This chapter provides a conceptual overview of the nature and scope of biodiversity and nature conservation law and policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It explores the different sources of law that underpin biodiversity management in the region. It then discusses the character, status, and force of the different sources, including the interrelationships between them.

Landscapes have a crucial role in bridging nature and culture and are therefore essential for biodiversity and ecosystem integrity preservation. As they are ingrained in regional customs and belief systems, they serve as a useful tool for biodiversity conservation. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) represents a vast region of many natural and cultural landscapes. This chapter presents the question “what are the causative factors of landscape alterations and potential threats to biodiversity in the MENA region?” An integrative review was conducted to provide actions to promote the development of effective policies and strategies for landscape and biodiversity conservation in the region. The chapter highlights natural/spatial, policy/institutional, socio-economic, technological, and cultural factors as the main influences on land changes in both regions. The chapter highlights priority actions in the areas of increased education and awareness, collaboration, and policy integration to effectively promote landscape and biodiversity conservation in the MENA region.

This chapter examines the legal and institutional framework on access and benefit sharing (ABS) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It examines the drivers and dimensions of access and benefit sharing risks in the MENA region, gaps in existing legal frameworks on ABS in the region, and innovative approaches for addressing such gaps. The chapter delves into the challenges of ABS in the MENA region. The Nagoya Protocol’s principles of access to genetic resources and benefit sharing are highlighted, underscoring their significance in the MENA context. Given the fragile nature of global biodiversity, it is crucial to support and innovatively implement these existing regulations, ensuring an effective and efficient approach to ABS.