These are some of the topics on the agenda of the Second Annual Assembly of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), scheduled for 19-20 November 2009 in Beirut.

For the first time, an independent expert report about the impact of climate change on Arab countries will be released for public debate, supported by scientific evidence and satellite images of the region not seen before.

The 2009 AFED report is designed to raise awareness among governments, business, academia and the public about the impact of climate change on the Arab region, and encourage concrete action to face the challenge. The comprehensive and human systems in the Arab world to climate change. The systems selected for this study include the following: coastal areas, food production, fresh water, ecosystems, in addition to the impact on human health, housing, transport, and tourism.

It is hoped that policy makers and business leaders will find the presentation of this topic useful for timely action, especially that AFED annual conference will take place at the hype of international negotiations for a post-2012 climate regime, which culminate in COP-15 Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.