Two linked UNDP-implemented interventions on Jordan's Gulf of Aqaba coastline, hosted within the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZA). The Enhancing Coastal Ecosystem Biodiversity and Resilience in the Gulf of Aqaba project applies Nature-Based Solutions to strengthen coastal biodiversity, including native-plant introduction around rockfill dams, deployment of concrete artificial reef units, an orphan-coral nursery, clean-up dives, and ecotourism. The GFCR-funded Gulf of Aqaba Resilient Reefs Programme aims to protect coral-reef climate refugia at three priority sites, advance reef-resilience science, and establish sustainable finance through a “Centre for Sustainable Blue Economy Innovation (BECI).”

The requestor raises concerns that the two Aqaba interventions may not be meeting UNDP's Social and Environmental Standards. The central issues are limited local community inclusion and benefit-sharing despite governance commitments under the programme; deployment of large concrete artificial reef structures within the Aqaba Marine Reserve under a December 2025 tender without scientific feasibility assessment or a formal ESIA; ambiguity in BECI governance and the status of its independent Projects' Selection Committee; and overly promotional, individualized public communications by staff and consultants that may undermine prior local and national efforts. The requestor asks that adequate environmental and social safeguards, meaningful stakeholder inclusion, transparent governance, and scientific rigour be ensured across both interventions.