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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
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Media
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'Water and Livelihood Initiative' Inception Workshop
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An
Inception Workshop for the 'Water and Livelihood Initiative' was held
at ICARDA Headquarters, 7-9 July. The workshop brought together representatives
of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES)
from seven Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
Palestine, Syria and Yemen) and from development agencies such as
USAID (Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen and Washington, DC) and UNDP's
Program of Assistance for the Palestinian People (PAPP). Delegates
from the USDA (Baghdad and Washington, DC) and GTZ in Damascus came
as observers. Representatives of IWMI and five US universities --
Texas A&M University (TAMU); University of California - Davis
& Riverside (UC-D/R), University of Florida (UF), University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Utah State University (USU)
also attended the workshop.
In his opening address Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, said that water is the number one priority in ICARDA's Strategic Plan for 2007/2016. "Water scarcity in this part of the world is a chronic problem," he said. The per capita availability of water in West Asia, North Africa and the Middle East is 1200 cubic meters, while the world average is 7000 cubic meters. "Climate change is further aggravating the problem. Rising prices of food have posed a real problem. Food security and vulnerability are becoming a priority for many countries in the region. The challenge before us as researchers is to increase food productivity with very little water and decrease the cost of production," Dr Solh said. Dr John O. Wilson, Environmental Officer for two Bureaus in USAID - Asia and the Middle East -- said the strategy for work on water at USAID addresses crosscutting issues in water resources management by strengthening regional processes/institutions for cooperative management of shared water in key regions; supporting governments to strengthen policies and regulations to use water more efficiently; protecting quality of water resources; promoting stakeholder participation and accountable water governance; building partnerships among communities, governmental agencies, and the private sector; assisting water utilities to increase the effectiveness of their operations and to expand services in rural and underserved areas; improving access to financing for water and sanitation infrastructure; engaging regional water entities, cooperating governments, local communities, donors, foundations, and private companies to address the water challenges in the Middle East region; and identifying and training the next generation of water decision-makers. Dr Scott Christiansen, ICARDA's Resource Mobilization Facilitator, made a presentation on the outline, objectives and anticipated results of the workshop. He said that the project is a planned effort to build a new long-term program for water and land management and capacity development in the region. A sense of participation and collaboration emerged from the meeting with a strong feeling that Science and Technology providers and NARES personnel would create solutions to the issues highlighted in the meeting by working together and using information gleaned from the rich, past experiences of all partners.
The desire for country level and regional strategies to improve water productivity and income was verified and the need for a new generation of policy-makers, scientists and extension personnel was confirmed. It was agreed that there was an essential need for education and in-service training for young and mid-career scientists and extension staff. This workshop brought together detailed information about sites, partners, constraints and potential solutions in each of the seven Middle Eastern countries. Defining the characteristics of benchmark sites was useful as a way of organizing and grouping the water and livelihood problems by agro-ecology. Decision-support modeling seemed necessary -- but only so far as it could be used with simplicity and clarity to decide the best path to more profit per drop of water. It was agreed to use bottom-up and market-driven participatory methodologies that are focused in the benchmark site communities. Primary locations of the work agreed for each country are - Egypt: Nile Delta irrigated areas; Iraq: Rabia'a rainfed area and Abu Ghraib irrigated areas; Jordan: marginal rangelands in the Muharib watershed; Lebanon: Orontes-Beka'a rainfed areas with winter supplementary irrigation and summer irrigation; Palestine: Eastern Slopes rangeland and rainfed areas; Syria: Orontes-Ghab rainfed areas with winter supplementary irrigation and summer irrigation; and Yemen: Abyan Governorate spate irrigation areas. |
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.