A national seminar at the Diplomatic Academy of Tunis is taking stock of the country’s commitments in the area of conservation.
To mark World Biodiversity Day, celebrated this year under the theme « Local Action for Global Impact, » the Ministry of the Environment organized a national seminar this Friday at the International Diplomatic Academy of Tunis. The meeting focused on the presentation of the findings of the seventh national report on biodiversity and the fifth national report on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Significant progress on several indicators
Hatem Ben Belgacem, Director General of Ecology and Natural Environments at the Ministry of the Environment, indicated that the seventh national report shows a progress rate exceeding 50% on several objectives related to the alignment of national strategies with the new global framework for biodiversity, which includes 23 international targets that Tunisia has translated into national objectives.
Among the achievements recorded are the development, for the first time, of a national red list of threatened species, as well as the assessment of ecosystems within the framework of the Red List of Ecosystems. The national Red List index has remained stable thanks to species and habitat conservation programs.
Tunisia has also distinguished itself by integrating biodiversity into its economic and sectoral policies even before the adoption of the new global framework in 2022, particularly in the industrial, cement, and mining sectors. This approach now extends to the Ministries of Finance and of Economy and Planning, within the framework of the development plan and five-year plans.
These efforts earned Tunisia the « medal of excellence » at the 2025 World Conservation Congress, in recognition of its progress in strategic planning for biodiversity conservation.
Persistent challenges
Ben Belgacem, however, warned of several environmental challenges that remain a concern: the degradation of ecosystems and the slowness of their restoration, the halt in the expansion of terrestrial and marine protected areas, as well as the increasing pressures exerted by plastic pollution and climate change.
To address this, Tunisia is working to strengthen its network of protected areas through new projects and decrees creating marine and terrestrial reserves, in parallel with the revision of the forestry code and the adoption of the « green list » approach to protected areas, based on participatory governance and shared management.
Regarding biosafety, the fifth national report on the Cartagena Protocol focused on evaluating the national system for preventing risks related to genetically modified organisms. Tunisia has a network of laboratories specializing in their detection and risk analysis, notably within the National Gene Bank, the Borj Cedria Biotechnology Center, and the Sidi Thabet Biotechnology Center.
The country is currently working to complete its legislative framework in this area, either by developing a specific law or by integrating these issues into texts relating to food safety and the environmental code.
The two reports were prepared as part of a participatory approach involving ministries, scientific institutions, research centers and civil society, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, between September 2025 and February 2026.
source : gnet news
