Beirut, 4 August 2017 (Communication and Information Unit) -- United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Mohamed Ali Al-Hakim today visited Lebanese Minister of State for Administrative Reform Inaya Ezzeddine, heading a delegation comprising Director of Emerging and Conflict Related Issues (ECRI) at ESCWA Tarek Alami, ESCWA Regional Adviser for Emerging and Conflict Related Issues Karam Karam, and ESCWA Regional Advisor for Sustainable Development Adib Nehme.

The 14th session of the Statistical Committee will be held online over two days, on 10 and 11 February 2021.

At its 14^th session, the Statistical Committee will follow up on progress in statistical activities in member States and the ESCWA secretariat since its previous session, which was held in Beirut in January 2019. It will also discuss monitoring challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), regional priorities for the coming years in the field of statistics and an ESCWA guide for a general law on official statistics for Arab States.

This document presents the importance of forests in providing natural materials such as timber, fuel, paper and medicinal plants while helping sustain the quality and availability of water. It particularly shows the role of forests in the ESCWA region as a rich resource and a shelter for different types of animals. However, the absence of adequate management and unsustainable use of the natural resources have a serious impact on the forests of the ESCWA region.

This publication aims to enhance the capacity of relevant national institutions in improving quality of data and statistics needed to monitor the progress towards  gender equality and the empowerment of women.