Charter Summary

The Middle East Green Initiative Charter is the reference document that defines the Initiative's objectives, scope of work, principles and governance framework. It was adopted at the Ministerial Meeting on 26 October 2022 and subsequently endorsed by leaders during the Initiative's Second Summit in November 2022, establishing an institutional foundation for cooperation among countries to reduce land degradation, restore terrestrial ecosystems and protect vegetation cover.

The Charter recognises the interconnected impacts of land degradation on biodiversity, food security, livelihoods and climate change. The Initiative is guided by the three Rio Conventions, the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and other relevant international efforts, while working towards its target of planting or regenerating 50 billion trees, equivalent to restoring 200 million hectares of land over the Initiative’s lifetime.

The Charter defines the Initiative's areas of work as reducing and reversing land degradation, restoring degraded land, and strengthening the protection of forests, rangelands, agricultural land and other areas of vegetation cover. The Initiative supports Member Countries through four interconnected pathways: facilitating financing; providing technical support, capacity-building and knowledge exchange; supporting projects from selection and design through implementation and results monitoring; and providing regional governance and oversight.

The Charter also establishes the principles of a shared vision, inclusive cooperation, transparency and accountability, science-based decision-making, innovation, and alignment between national priorities and regional and international efforts. It sets out the roles of the Ministerial Council, Executive Committee, Secretariat, Scientific Advisory Committee, Initiative Fund and National Focal Points, clarifying responsibilities and strengthening coordination among Member Countries.

The Charter further outlines the basis of membership and forms of country contribution, including alignment of national policies with the Initiative's objectives, proposal, hosting and implementation of projects, voluntary financial contributions, exchange of expertise and support for capacity-building. It also establishes a framework for monitoring, evaluation and reporting, enabling project progress and results to be tracked and enhancing transparency in communicating the Initiative's achievements.