Project description

Title: Support for the Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) in Implementing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Regional in 20 countries of the Arab League
Lead executing agency: Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture
Overall term: 2000 to 2011

Context

In the arid steppes of the Middle East, the extent of land threatened by soil degradation is growing at a fast pace. The principal causes of persistent degradation processes include high population growth, which brings with it the fragmentation of the land and an increasing number of poor people. Greater pressure to use land resulting in overgrazing, forest clearance, firewood consumption and inadequate irrigation methods lead to diminishing soil productivity in cultivated and forested areas. The central problems in combating this situation are a lack of up-to-date information about desertification processes and the absence of tested instructions on what to do.

Objective

The Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) uses more effective methods of conveying knowledge as it advises the Arab League member countries on scientific and technical issues.

Approach

Twenty countries of the Arab League (as of May 2009) have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The signatories have pledged themselves to set up national action programmes which define national, regional and local strategies for combating desertification and which include concrete measures for their implementation.

The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) is a research institution set up in 1971 by the Arab League. ACSAD’s mission takes in all aspects of appropriate uses of natural resources in Arab League countries. As a regional service provider, ACSAD is to support the regional bodies as they put UNCCD into effect.

The project advises ACSAD and relevant institutions in the participating countries. The topics include method selection, development and strategies for implementing national requirements within the scope of the desertification convention, as well as strategies for adaptation to climate change. Pilot measures are conducted and workshops are held with international organisations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and academic experts. Study trips to pilot projects and training activities are offered as is attending international meetings and conferences.

Results achieved so far

Methods to combat desertification are devised and ACSAD is supported in their dissemination in the Arab region.  Furthermore, methods of conservation agriculture have been introduced and disseminated on a trial basis in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Apart from the pilot measures in ACSAD research stations and partner countries, selected farmers have shifted to a new production system. Initial results are promising and there is a corresponding demand for expansion of the areas involved.

Further information

• Local project website
  Combating Desertification in Lebanon – CODEL
  http://www.codanet.net
• The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and dry Land – ACSAD
  http://www.acsad.org
• Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)
  http://www.bgr.de
• Ministry of Agriculture
  http://www.agriculture.gov.lb
• League of Arab States
  http://www.arableagueonline.org