Officials from FRWO and UNDP, representatives of NGOs and journalists were present at this signing ceremony held at the FRWO Headquarters. Prior to the Signing, Dr. Salajeqeh opened the meeting, saying that the main objective of the Project is to identify and remove the structural and policy gaps for attaining an integrated management of the natural resources in Iran. Adding that development cannot be materialized without due attention to the natural resources, he underlined that, according to the concept of sustainable management, these resources are of vital importance.

He further praised the role of UNDP as a lead organization in strategic and global sustainable management of land and economy and announced that his organization supports the MENARID project that will address significant issues such as climate change, land degradation, international waters and conservation of biodiversity. . He also said that FRWO is looking for further cooperation in the fifth round of the Global Environment Facility (GEF 5) programme and other joint projects that fall within the frameworks of UNDP Country Team in Iran, as well as national development plans of Iran.

In her role as the Resident Representative of UNDP in Iran, Ms. Vidal expressed delight to be signing the project document for MENARID, and thanked Dr. Salajeqeh for his special attention to the joint initiatives between FRWO and UNDP. Recalling the longstanding and successful collaborations with UNDP Iran, she mentioned that FRWO has been a prime partner for UNDP in implementation of Natural Resources Management projects. Ms. Vidal added, ‘The dedication is now developing to a more challenging project such as MENARID, which needs to address issues at intra-sectoral, inter-sectoral, organizational and non-governmental levels through a multi-sectoral approach.’ She underlined that this is an endeavor that requires significant coordination among different bodies and partners involved.

She also referred to the evidence that indicates Iran’s natural resources are increasingly being subject to over-exploitation and stressed that this would reduce the potential to sustain the present and future needs of the coming generations. The UNDP Resident Representative emphasized that, in line with the Millennium Development Goals, the Project places biodiversity, water, soil and land use/use change as key issues to be addressed in the global challenge for actions to sequester more carbon in the face of critical climate change trends. She concluded her remarks by underlining that the UNDP country office is delighted and prepared to support the efforts made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with its sustainable development objectives.

The two parties then signed the project document for MENARID, which was followed by a short press conference.

The principles of MENARID reflect the need to address cross-sectoral components in an integrated way in order to make the most of synergies and minimize the possible negative exchanges among them.