Aichi Target 11 states that “By 2020, at least 17 percent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.”

So far, biodiversity conservation has relied on protected areas (PAs) while other types of effective measures (OECM) have been left aside.  With new post-2020 biodiversity targets in the horizon, Contracting Parties to the CBD are realizing the potential of OECM to help them achieve effective conservation and meet globally agreed targets.

To update AT11 results in six countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) and assess how potential OECMs could help achieve these and oncoming protection targets, we worked on the identification of potential OECM categories and sites in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The possibilities offered by this category of sites were explained to the countries’ representatives during an international workshop led by IUCN in Tunis in February 2020, and so contribute to the identification of other potential candidate areas at country level.