Fungal conservation in Arab countries

Abstract

At the end of 2010 a group of Egyptian scientists and volunteers launched a series of activities to shed the light on fungi and fungal conservation. They organized more than 15 workshops organized by Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Egypt. The major objects of the aforementioned workshops were to raise the national awareness on Biodiversity and Conservation of Fungi. In 2013, Abdel-Azeem founded the Arab Society for Fungal Conservation (ASFC) as a pioneer society for fungal conservation in the Arab world and North of Africa. The society founded in Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Suez Canal, Egypt as a private, voluntary, non-governmental organization. In 2016, Abdel-Azeem founded the Egypt’s Mycologists Network (EMN) as a structured network of Egyptian mycologists, with a steering committee to guide and promote best practices, and to resolve relevant problems through collaboration between mycologists, amateur fungal groups, fungal conservation societies, regional natural parks and environmental agencies. Recently by the end of 2020 and due to these previous activities various networks have been founded by ASFC in Iraq, Algeria and Pakistan by mycologists and academia from these countries to illustrate the concept of fungal conservation through collaboration between decision makers, mycologists, fungal conservation societies, individual enthusiasts, national protectorates and environmental agencies. Based on aforementioned information we presented here the updated news concerning Fungal conservation efforts in Arab countries.