ABSTRACT
The Near East region, as defined in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) or some of the other United Nations bodies, covers countries in West and Central Asia and North Africa regions, which encompass four ecological and socio-economical sub-regions:
the Mediterranean region: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Syria;
the West and Central Asia region: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan;
the sub-Saharan Africa region: Sudan and Somalia;
the Arabian Peninsula region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
