[text from the back cover of the publication] 

A Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East represents the culmination of a two year project, the Middle East Wetland Inventory, sponsored jointly by IUCN-The World Conservation Union, WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature, the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau (IWRB), BirdLife International and the Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (the Ramsar Convention). Funding was provided by WWF.

The Directory consists of a series of national chapters describing the principal wetlands in thirteen countries from Syria and Lebanon in the west to Afghanistan in the east and the Republic of Yemen in the south. Over fifty individuals and organizations have contributed to the Directory, many of them providing hitherto unpublished information on wetlands in the Middle East. Two hundred and twenty-three sites of international importance are described. These have been selected on the basis of criteria developed in relation to the Ramsar Convention. Although special attention is paid to the importance of the wetlands for wildlife, all wetland values, including water storage, flood control, coastal protection and fisheries production, have been taken into consideration.

The Directory thus provides for the conservation community a list of the highest priorities for conservation action. At the same time, it provides for governments and the development assistance community guidance on those sites where future activities will require the most intensive investment in environmental impact assessment and in the design and implementation of appropriate conservation measures.