Agrobiodiversity secures food for the future

Maintenance of agrobiodiversity in the arid and semi-arid areas is all about issues of food security for future populations, the first meeting of project members were told.
        GEF coordinator Ms Inger Andersen, from the UNDP, also warned that the Project faced a long journey to its successful conclusion, although she welcomed the fact that all the "passengers were at the station and ready to board the train."
        She said that from a GEF perspective she was both excited and committed to making the project work for two reasons: agrobiodiversity in the arid and semi-arid areas really meant security of food issues, and within this the conservation of biodiversity in progenitors and wild relatives is important. She paid tribute to the ICARDA staff, in particular, who had put in a great deal of time since the project was first proposed in 1994.

National and Regional Meetings get underway

Jordan hosted the first regional project discussions when national and regional project representatives met in Amman in July 1999.
        The regional technical and planning meeting (RTP) was held 13-15 July to: present and discuss the national and regional workplans for year one; discuss the strategies and criteria for site selection; standardize the methodologies and procedures needed in the implementation of the project activities; determine the needs for training and technical backstopping; and prepare the recommendations for the regional steering committee meeting.
        From the national programs of the participating countries/authority, 23 scientists were present, four UNDP representatives from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority, and 16 scientists from ICARDA, IPGRI and ACSAD. All project areas--agrobiodiversity, rangeland, natural resource management, GIS/RS, socioeconomics, public awareness, impact monitoring and human resources--were covered.
        Criteria for site selection were discussed and it was agreed to divide the criteria into three main groups:
• representativeness of the target areas
• suitable conditions for work
• potential for impacts and benefits
        Two groups worked on the development of common methodologies and procedures for assessing the status of agrobiodiversity. Group One considered agrobiodiversity, rangeland and natural resource management, while Group Two concentrated on socioeconomics, public awareness, policy and legislation issues, human resources and impact assessment.
        The first regional steering committee (RSC) meeting was held 16 July for heads of delegation, project managers, ICARDA, IPGRI, ACSAD, and country representatives from UNDP, together with the regional coordinator. It was agreed that RSC meetings will be attended in future by two members from each country--the Director General (or his representative) of the main national implementing institution and the national project coordinator or manager. Also present will be the principal UNDP Country Office representative for the project (Damascus), the UNDP Office representative in Jerusalem, and representatives of ICARDA, IPGRI and ACSAD management, together with the regional coordinator.
        It was reported that training courses on land and water management would be held in November 1999 at ACSAD in Damascus, and on eco-geographic and botanic surveys at ICARDA in Aleppo in January 2000. A regional course on Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing will be held during the project's second year.
        It was agreed the regional coordinator should develop core surveys, the final versions of which, together with survey methodologies, would be developed at national level. A timetable was set for this to be completed by September 1999. Technical backstopping is to be supplied for public awareness activities and in impact monitoring.
        The next regional coordination and steering committee meetings were set for 10-14 July 2000 in Beirut, Lebanon.

        Ms Andersen underlined the importance of regional integration which brought for the first time Palestinian colleagues together with other countries which had traditionally worked in partnership. This was the first project in the GEF with full Palestinian involvement that she hoped would set a precedent for other project areas. She welcomed also the partnership with ACSAD and IPGRI.
        Welcoming delegates to Aleppo on behalf of ICARDA Director-General Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Dr John Dodds, Assistant Director General (Research), said ICARDA was happy to see the project under way after a long gestation period. The region was a major center for the biological diversity of food crops, the maintenance of which is an underlying part of the role of the CGIAR in alleviating poverty and feeding people, said Dr Dodds. Available genetic resources are among the building blocks for developing crop improvement programs and creating a better life in the region. He looked forward to this new partnership meeting the exciting challenges ahead.
        This stakeholders' meeting went on to agree a common understanding between UNDP and ICARDA on management issues, and to establish how the central and nationally-based elements of the agrobiodiversity project will work together.