Central and West Asia and North Africa

The climate in the region of Central and West Asia and North Africa varies widely from hot humid tropics to extremely dry desert. However, the majority of the region, especially in the Arab block, is located in one of the driest environments. These vast differences in climate and geographical location have resulted in wide diversity in vegetation and fauna. 

The richness of the plant diversity is not limited only to wet and dense forests  but is also evident in the drylands of many Mediterranean and central Asian  countries with several thousand plant species. This situation gives the CWANA sub-regions a special importance with regard to plant genetic resources. Besides its rich biodiversity in general, the CWANA region is also very rich in agrobiodiversity, including many endemic species adapted to extreme environments. Contained within its borders lies one of the world's three centres of origin of agricultural crops and three Vavilovian centres of crop diversity. The Mediterranean region and southwest Asia are believed to be the centres of origin of more than 150 plant species grown in the world today.

Training materials for this review include lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations and interactive group practice exercises.

A number of selected law and policy files are also available as reference materials.

Additional handouts to enrich the training include a summary of overheads for each presentation, references to the full-text of relevant laws and policies and a bibliography for further reading.

Other materials for trainers include an overview with a complete list of handouts, workshop schedule, an evaluation form and instructions for trainers with a timed schedule of activities and handouts. See also Information for Trainers , for a selection of templates, tips, and step-by-step guidelines for planning and delivering a successful training workshop.

Selected Law and Policy files

Additional information