Regional workshop of eco- tourism development and planning in the Syrian Steppe

FAO is organizing a regional workshop on " Planning and development of Eco- tourism in the Syrian Steppe." on December 15 through 17 in Palmyra. Representatives from Arab states including Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and Syria are taking part.

Eco- tourism is a responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improve the income of local communities.

The general objectives of this workshop is to increase awareness of the concerned Syrian authorities and the local communities- based eco- tourism in the country taking Palmyra area and surroundings as priority region, through (I) practical assessment of the potentialities and suitability of Talila Reserve (ii) assessing the possibility of initiating sustainable income generating activities linked to eco- tourism for the benefit of local communities (iii) learning from neighboring countries and (iv) establishing valuable partnerships and collaborations links between the reserves of the region ( v) assist the government to develop a national strategy for eco- tourism using Talila Reserve experience as a model.

Moreover, the specific objectives of this workshop are: Outlines for the role of Talila Reserve and other Syrian reserves in the Eco- tourism development at national level; Initiate practical steps to formulate strategy to be adopted to encourage the development of sustainable and responsible eco- tourism; reviewing the state of art in neighboring countries with an emphasis on the concrete results, constraints, lessons learned and recommendations and, explore possibilities and outline a strategy for linking protected areas of neighboring countries aimed at promoting the development of eco- tourism at the regional level.