This Policy Note discusses the status of Forestry in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNA) of the Bank. The Policy Note is a product of the FAO Investment Center in Rome, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Bank. Experience in natural resource management shows that to adequately address sustainable development, solutions must go beyond any single sector, and be cross-sectoral. They must also go beyond technical solutions to include legal and policy frameworks. In the MNA Region, a large percentage of the population lives in rural areas on primarily small pieces of land and in the absence of other sources of revenue to supplement their income. Also because many do not own their land, they are without the means to improve their small land areas to increase output and revenues, thus creating a dependence on the natural resources.