This Directory represents the culmination of a two-year project, the Middle East Wetland Inventory, sponsored jointly by IUCN, WWF, IWRB, BirdLife International and Ramsar. It consists of a series of national chapters describing the principal wetlands in 13 countries from Syria and Lebanon in the west to Afghanistan in theeast, and the Republic of Yemen in the south. 223 sites of international importance are described, the critierai being not only wildlife value but also water storage, flood control, coastal protection and fisheries production. An invaluable information resource.