AFED was officially proclaimed in Beirut on 17 June 2006, at the conclusion of a regional conference on Public Opinion and the Environment, organized by Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia (Environment & Development) magazine. The initiative, which started in 2001 as an informal gathering of the magazine’s region-wide readers, was established as a regional organization on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. AFED has subsequently earned the status of international non-governmental organization, with the associated immunities for its secretariat based in Beirut.