 |
ICARDA News International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012 Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG Website: www.icarda.org
|
||
|
Media
contact:
icarda-media@cgiar.org
|
|||
|
EC
PF 7: Sustainable Water Use Project for
Mediterranean Dry Areas Launched |
|||
To
address water scarcity, water quality deterioration, and abiotic stresses,
such as drought and salinity, that are becoming even more pronounced
with Climate Change leading to desertification, a multi-partner project
"Sustainable Water Use Securing Food Production in Dry Areas
of the Mediterranean Region," supported by the European Commission’s
Framework Program 7 (ECFP7) was launched with a Kick Off Meeting at
ICARDA, 1-4 July.
The meeting was attended by 18 participants from 8 countries and 10 scientists of ICARDA and its Syrian national partner, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR). This 4-year project, supported by the European Commission, will be led by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in partnership with ICARDA; Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal; Institute for Agricultural and Forest Mediterranean Systems, Napoli, Italy; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK; Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe, Cairo, Egypt; Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco; Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey; and Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia. The expected outcome of the project is improved productivity and sustainable use of agricultural lands by developing more diverse farming systems, supporting economic development in non-European Mediterranean countries while ensuring mutual interest and benefit with the EU. Opening the meeting Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, said that considering the challenges of climate change, water scarcity, and water quality deterioration, there was a need to use the available freshwater resources in agriculture more efficiently. "In order to narrow the gap between freshwater demand and supply in agricultural production systems, the use of non-conventional water resources is widely considered as a viable option. One such resource is wastewater generated by household, industrial, and municipal sectors," he explained. The other important source is saline water from the agricultural drainage systems. However, it is imperative to assess the environmental impact of using these marginal-quality water resources in agriculture, and to develop environmentally feasible interventions aiming at the efficient use of these resources over a long term, according to Dr Solh. "Having the evidence of increased intensity of multiple abiotic stresses, there is also a need to select, introduce, and test cereals, grain legumes and new crops and cultivars with improved abiotic stress tolerance," said the DG. Dr Maarten van Ginkel, DDG (Research), ICARDA, presented the overview of ICARDA's mandate and research network in the non-tropical dry areas. He dwelt on the key challenges of dry areas such as living with uncertainty, increased food prices and the grain-gaps in the CWANA countries. "Our focus is on scientific creativity to face the climate change," he observed while outlining the big challenges ahead and the opportunities for research-based pathways out of poverty. Dr Sven-Erik Jacobsen, Project Coordinator, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in his presentation entitled "Four Years from Now" brought out the various aspects of the project and possible solutions that would emerge to benefit the farming communities in the region. Dr Manzoor Qadir of ICARDA's Integrated Water and Land Management Program (IWLMP) and Coordinator of the ICARDA-led work in the project, in his welcome statement highlighted the importance of the project and pointed out that it had also a strong component of capacity enhancement.
During the 3-day discussions in various sessions, the representatives of the participating organizations discussed different elements of the project implementation and respective institutional roles and responsibilities. The final session was chaired by Dr van Ginkel, who was appreciative of the project approach and emphasized the need to link the project activities with other ongoing projects addressing similar aspects. The participants also visited the Jaboul Lake that receives mix drainage/wastewater from a drainage channel and the salt harvesting site in the lake. They interacted with the farming communities in Hagla village, where rainfed agriculture and the use of different sources of water for irrigation are in vogue. Later, they visited the salt-affected and waterlogged areas in Raqqa and met with the farmers and researchers. |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) is one of the 15
international research centers supported by the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA serves the entire
developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean;
and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water,
improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and
goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central
and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for
the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of
the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
(www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and
regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international
research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable
development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition
and health, and protecting the environment.