Conservation of dryland agrobiodiversity is receiving increasing attention in response to emerging global concerns over biodiversity loss, desertification, and global warming. Dryland agrobiodiversity in West Asia sustains the livelihood of local communities and provides useful genes for plant breeding programs worldwide. ICARDA has collected with national agricultural research system partners (NARS) more than 129,000 accessions of its mandate crop plants, landraces, and wild relatives of important crop species. These are stored (ex situ) in the Center’s genebank. Conservation on site (in situ), in farmers’ fields or protected areas, has been promoted recently as a complementary method to conserve a larger genetic base, while benefiting from natural selection and the knowledge of local communities.

The GEF/UNDP dryland
agrobiodiversity project

A five-year project entitled “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Dryland Agrobiodiversity” was launched in 1999 to promote in situ conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is coordinated regionally by ICARDA. ICARDA also facilitates networking and provides technical backstopping and training, requested by national components, in cooperation with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Arab Center

for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). The project focuses on conservation of landraces and wild relatives of barley, wheat, lentil, allium, feed legumes (Lathyrus, Medicago, Trifolium and Vicia), and fruit trees (olive, fig, almond, pistachio, plum, peach, pear, apple). A holistic approach based on the involvement of major stakeholders, principally farmers and herders, and on the coverage of major ecosystems and farming systems is followed. The main outputs of the project relate to: (1) assessment and monitoring of agrobiodiversity and generating knowledge about major factors contributing to its degradation; (2) demonstration of low-cost technologies and ways to increase the productivity and marketability of products making use of agrobiodiversity; (3) drafting of appropriate policy and legislation reforms; (4) enhancing capacity building; (5) increasing public awareness; (6) investigation of alternative sources of income; and (7) impact assessment and contribution to the development of scientific basis for in situ conservation.
     The project activities are implemented at the national level by national research institutes: National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT) in Jordan, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in Lebanon, and General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR) in Syria and the Ministry of Agriculture and UNDP/PAPP in the Palestinian Authority.

Major achievements

Output 1: Status of agrobiodiversity and major factors of its degradation
Socioeconomic surveys found that all farmers are using only landraces of barley, lentils, figs, and olives. Most farmers still use wheat landraces, except in the West Bank, where half of the farmers use improved varieties. More than half of the farmers still use landraces of almond, apricot, and plum. The quality and adaptation advantages of landraces are well known to farmers. The area planted to these landraces is decreasing due to the rapid spread of apple, cherry, and olive plantations. Ecogeographic surveys conducted in 55 monitoring areas showed that the agrobiodiversity in natural habitats is affected mainly by overgrazing, encroachment of agricultural land, and by expansion of quarries.

Output 2: Demonstration of low cost technologies and income opportunities
The performance of landraces of cereals and food and feed legumes increased by more than 50% on some farms following the cleaning and treatment of seeds against seed-borne diseases and use of herbicides, which shows the need to develop a community-based informal seed-increase system. The technologies demonstrated to landrace fruit-tree growers included water harvesting, pruning, integrated pest management, use of foliar fertilizer, and others. To promote rangeland rehabilitation, the project demonstrated techniques for reseeding with native species, application of phosphorus, controlled grazing, water harvesting, plantation of shrubs, and production of feed blocks, designed to reduce pressure on local species during critical times.
    The project selected 24 in situ conservation sites and helped private and public nurseries collect cuttings of landraces and seeds of wild fruit trees to be used for afforestation.
     The project also focused on training local communities, mainly women, in production of jams, compotes, syrups, and dried fruits. The project introduced the practice of making jam from zizyphus and wild pyrus fruits, and helped set up agrobiodiversity shops in Ajloun (Jordan) and Al-Haffeh (in Syria), both historical sites, to allow the sale of local products.

Output 3: Reforms of national biodiversity policies and legislation
The project developed a framework that includes steps to follow in the development of national biodiversity policies and legislation. The framework is shared with many other

Output 4: Capacity building
Some 34 graduate and undergraduate students were supported in their studies and national and regional training courses were conducted for project team members, the staff of national executing institutions, extension staff, and forestry departments. The training covered use of DNA molecular tools and geographic information systems and remote sensing in assessing agrobiodiversity and genetic diversity; ecogeographic/botanic conservation; taxonomy and identification of target species; participatory breeding; in situ conservation and genebank management; rangeland and livestock management; water harvesting; food processing; and other topics.

Output 5: Increasing public awareness
Increasing the awareness of the general public and collaborating farmers is an important task of the project. This was undertaken through workshops and meeting with local communities, media interviews (TV, radio, newspapers, newsletters, and websites), production of posters and documentary films, use of rural theater, and organization of agrobiodiversity fairs. The project is collaborating with Ministries of Education to introduce biodiversity conservation in education systems. Teachers were instructed on agrobiodiversity, and extra-curricula activities were organized aimed at engaging children and parents. These activities included creation of environment clubs, promotion of school gardens, painting contests, visits to project sites, documentation of parents’ knowledge of local plants and their uses.

Output 6: Investigation of alternative sources of income
The project is investigating alternative income sources for local communities, the custodians of agrobiodiversity. Training and technical support were provided on honey production and bee keeping, improvement of dairy products, cultivation of medicinal and herbal plants, and creation of private and community nurseries. Contacts with private agencies and government institutions were initiated to promote ecotourism.

Output 7: Project impact assessment
The preliminary indicators of project impact are very encouraging. The project helped in the setting up of agrobiodiversity programs in research institutions in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and in the creation of agrobiodiversity units in the Ministry of Agriculture, Palestinian Authority, and in the Forestry Department in Jordan. There has been a shift toward the use of wild relatives of fruit trees in afforestation efforts. In Syria, 500,000 seedlings of target landrace species were planted in 2003, compared to 30,000 in 1999. Awareness is increasing at all levels regarding the need to conserve agrobiodiversity. This has facilitated collaboration with tourism and education ministries and with other projects and nongovernmental organizations. Sites rich in agrobiodiversity have been identified and designated so by governments, after approval by local communities. Many accessions of target species have been collected and placed in genebanks. Protocols for ecogeographic/botanic survey database management were set and a policy framework was developed and shared.

Lessons learned

Research and extension efforts should contribute to the promotion of conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity. Further success will be achieved if the role of local communities is fully recognized, evidenced by their full participation, empowerment, and sharing in resulting benefits. The project has highlighted activities and actions that will contribute to the ultimate goal of improving the livelihood of local communities while conserving agrobiodiversity, but increased national and international support is needed to conserve endangered agrobiodiversity. Lessons should be drawn from the failed expansion of alternative crops promoted at the expense of rich local agrobiodiversity.