Princess Basma urges balance between environmental protection and local development

HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal has emphasized the significance of balancing development needs with those of local communities, and an approach to development and conservation that repects the lifestyles of those whose time on the land stretches back generations.

Princess Basma was speaking at the "Dana+20: Mobile Indigenous Peoples, Conservation, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change" conference which opened Wednesday at Wadi Dana Nature Reserve.

The event is organized by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan (RSCN) in cooperation with the Refugee Studies Centre from the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) – an international NGO.

She said initiatives to preserve the deeply ingrained cultural traditions and long-established ways of life of local communities must go hand in hand with the trend toward urbanization and development.

Her Highness commended the RSCN's efforts in these Jordanian regions, particularly the Dana Reserve, which is known for its rare biological diversity and the habitats it provides for numerous species of mammals, birds, plants, and reptiles.

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