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Yemen has signed in 1992 and ratified in 1995 the International Convention on Biological Diversity which was launched at the Earth Summit conference in 1992.  In so doing, Yemen has acknowledged the value of biological resources as an integral part of it’s natural heritage with the potential for yielding long term benefits for the Yemen people and as essential foundation for sustainable development.  The Government of Yemen takes its responsibilities for the conservation and sustainable use of its natural resource seriously.  It recognizes also that the well being of its present and future communities depends on the conservation of the diversity and abundance of its biological resources.

Government focus on environmental and conservation issues is relatively new in Yemen, with the Environment Protection Council only having been established in 1990 and transformed in a full blown agency in 2001.  In recent years however the country ratified other international biodiversity-related conventions such as the UN Convention for Combating Desertification, the Climate Change Convention and the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) convention. It also developed and implemented numerous policies and action plans related to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development including a National Water Strategy and Watershed Policy, a National Environmental Action Plan and a National Action Plan for Combating Desertification.