APN President Razan Zuayter was elected to serve on the West Asia Regional Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) by her colleagues at the Jordan National Committee meeting in March of this year. Zuayter will hold the position for four years, during which she and APN have committed to try to making the Jordan National Committee stronger, more active, and more vocal within the Regional Committee and IUCN as a whole. This role will also allow APN to encourage the IUCN to prioritize and address environmental issues which are pertinent to Jordan and the West Asia region.

APN has long been an active member of IUCN, focusing particularly on the impacts of crises, conflict, wars, and occupation on the environment. In 2004, APN held a workshop on this subject in Bangkok, Thailand, and prepared a motion that was passed that same year entitled “Strengthening IUCN’s Presence to Protect the Natural and Human Environment”. In 2008 APN prepared another successful motion – “Liability and Compensation Mechanisms for Environmental Crimes During Armed Conflicts”.

Zuayter joins the IUCN West Asia Regional Committee with two other Jordanian representatives, also elected in March:  Ehab Eid, Programs Director at Royal Marine Conservation Society (JREDS) and Dr. Mohammad Majdalawi, Board Member of the Jordanian Society for Organic Farming.