CWANA+ Network, a New South-South Partnership
A new south-south partnership to combat desertification, known as the CWANA+ Network, was launched by the United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo, Japan, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria, at the Eighth International Conference on Dry Lands Development held in Beijing from 25 to 28 February 2006.
The focus of the Network is the people and ecosystems of the drylands in CWANA (Central and West Asia and North Africa), sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Europe, and South and Northeast Asia regions. The main objective of the Network is to develop a grouping of universities and research centers in the regions for the exchange of knowledge and promotion of best practices in integrated land and water management.
The CWANA+ Network will adopt the following strategies in its operations:
1. Based on the existing networks of UNU and ICARDA, link relevant centers of excellence in research and capacity building.
2. Identify the research gaps and select partners to reach out to in these areas.
3. Establish a UNU liaison office in ICARDA to facilitate the integration and synergy of relevant networks.
The expected key outcomes of the CWANA+ Network are as follows:
1. An extensive regional network for information exchange and sharing of successful sustainable land management experiences.
2. Development of joint activities amongst partners in the network, through identification of research gap and available financial resources.
3. Improved livelihoods for dryland dwellers in areas where the network undertakes activities and projects.
The joint initiative will benefit from the recent millennium ecosystem assessment reports, which provide pathways out of desertification to improved ecosystem services and human well-being. Viable options will be provided to the people living in the dry areas to improve their livelihoods by mitigating the effects of desertification and conserving the natural resources of land, water and biodiversity. Efforts will be made to incorporate these options into national policies and strategies to reduce poverty and into the national action programs to combat desertification.
Prof. Hans van Ginkel, Rector, UNU, said the joint initiative will follow the Spirit of Bandung, the core principles of which are solidarity, friendship, and cooperation among the countries of Asia and Africa; and
the “Beijing Framework for Action on Combating Desertification,” adopted at the Asia-Africa Forum on Combating Desertification in Beijing, China, 5–11 August 1996.
“The objectives of the joint initiative include
sharing expertise and facilities,
training developing country scientists, providing opportunities for a Masters’ degree programs in integrated land management,
and promoting best practices
across the vast CWANA region and neighboring dry areas in Western China, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA and Chair of the International Dry Lands Development Commission.
Integrated land and water management in dry areas is a priority theme for both UNU and ICARDA. The new partnership is expected to further strengthen the already existing collaboration between the two organizations in land management.
The UNU dryland programme applies a network approach to reach out to its stakeholders, especially in the developing countries of Africa and Asia. The UNU recently established a network of universities and research centers in the drylands of CWANA and China in cooperation with ICARDA and UNESCO. The research network serves as the basic framework for the implementation of the UNU dryland program. In addition, there are prospects of linking the UNU dryland research network with other UNU partners of universities in sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkan Region, and South Asia. UNU is committed to expanding the network of centers of excellence in integrated land and water management in the dry lands.
ICARDA also works through a network of partnerships with national, regional and international institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations and ministries in the developing countries; and with advanced research institutes in industrialized countries. By providing technical backstopping and training to national partners and fostering regional and inter-regional networks, ICARDA continues to devolve research responsibilities to national agricultural research systems as they gain maturity in their research capabilities and strengthen their research infrastructure. ICARDA has established six regional programs to reach out to the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in the CWANA region.
ANNEX 1: CURRENT UNU NETWORKS WITH RELEVANCE TO DRYLAND MANAGEMENT
The UNU undertakes four different types of activities in order to advance knowledge and capacity towards resolving the pressing global challenges to human security and development. These are (i) research, (ii) foresight and policy studies, (iii) capacity development, and (iv) dissemination. In the implementation of these activities, UNU is increasingly working with external partners and developing a system for tendering for UNU programmes/projects. The breadth of its cooperation with universities and research institutes, particularly in developing countries is widening primarily by involving these institutions in one of UNU exists or newly initiated networks.
In order to be effective for a large dryland region across Asia and Africa, the UNU dryland programme has adopted a network approach to link centers of excellence in the region and to promote a South-South cooperative approach of learning from each other. The approach aims to build on and pool together the existing and different expertise of centers of excellence for sustainable management of dryland ecosystems. This approach also avoids a relatively high cost of training young professional in developed countries, makes a direct link of their studies to existing problems, and minimizes the risk of “brain drain”, which is a threat to the availability of talented people in many dry areas. The dryland research network brings together the best, but widely dispersed experts and alleviates intellectual isolation in developing countries. The network complements and provides an added value to the ongoing research and training programs at the national centers of excellence through cross-fertilization and exchange of knowledge. It gathers a critical mass of expertise for new knowledge to combat desertification and helps to save very scarce resources for national centers of excellence by avoiding duplication of research in the region and through the scale of economy.
1. “Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD)” is a joint international project between UNU-INWEH, UNESCO and ICARDA that brings together national partners from North Africa through the Middle East to Asia. The project uses a harmonized methodological approach for selected study sites in the countries involved to compare results and share knowledge. The project aims to identify people's adaptation and traditional knowledge in coping with adverse dryland conditions. The project fosters the rehabilitation of degraded drylands, using community-based approaches. Training, capacity building and interaction with landowners and farmers, with a focus on sustainable and indigenous dryland management practices, are a key element of the project. The SUMAMAD project is currently funded by the Flemish Government of Belgium, and includes the following country partners:
Peoples Republic of China
· National Committee for UNESCO-MAB Programme at the Chinese Academy of Sciences
· The Cold and Arid Regions Environmental & Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou
Egypt
· University of Alexandria and Omayed Biosphere Reserve, Alexandria
Islamic Republic of Iran
· Fars Research Center for Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry, Shiraz
Jordan
· Royal Natural Conservation Society of Jordan and the Jordanian National Committee for UNESCO-MAB Programme, Amman
Pakistan
· Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (National Committee for UNESCO-IHP Programme) and National Committee of UNESCO-MAB Programme, Islamabad
Syria
· ICARDA, Aleppo
Tunisia
· Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Medénine
Uzbekistan
· Samarkand University, Samarkand
2. Joint Master’s Degree Programme in Integrated Land Management in Drylands (MS Programme. The MS Programme is an international programme designed to develop capacity to effectively manage drylands resources and promote the centers of excellence in developing countries. Participants in the programme will take multidisciplinary courses in Tunisia and China, as well as conduct applied research in their home countries. The pilot phase of the MS Programme is in progress with five fellows, one each from China, Egypt, India, Sudan, and Tunisia. The programme partners include:
Tunisia
· Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Medénine
· Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), Tunis
China
· The Cold and Arid Regions Environmental & Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou
3. UNU project on Traditional Water Management in the Dry Areas. This project aims to:
i. emphasize the importance of traditional water management systems through focused research and field activities, including comparative evaluation of these systems in different settings.
ii. evaluate the relationship between local communities and traditional water management systems, including evolution of these systems in contemporary societies.
iii. build the capacity of local researchers to undertake community-oriented field research.
iv. perform focused research on means and ways for improving traditional water management systems according to evolving socio-economic patterns, particularly highlighting South-South collaboration.
v. raise public awareness on key issues pertaining to the utilization of traditional water management technologies.
Research fellows in the project have so far come from Tunisia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Yemen, Oman, Japan, and China.
4. The UNU/UNEP/GEF project on Sustainable Land Management in the High Pamir and Pamir-Alai Mountains. This is an integrated and trans-boundary initiative in Central Asia (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) that aims to address the interlinked problems of land degradation and poverty within one of Central Asia’s critical mountain ‘water towers’ and biodiversity hotspots. The project will use a trans-boundary approach that seeks to improve the technological, institutional, policy and legislative environment required to enable mountain communities to take primary responsibility for the productive and sustainable management of their local ecosystem resources. The principal global environmental benefit will be the development of a replicable ‘model’ for an integrated development strategy that can be used to address the problems of land degradation in similar mountain environments. The project will play a major role in mainstreaming sustainable land management concerns within the national environmental law, policy and institutional systems of both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It will also focus on regional level harmonisation of the respective legislative and policy systems needed to create an enabling environment for the improved management of trans-boundary mountain ecosystem resources.
Tajikistan
· State Directorate of Protected Areas, "Tajik National Park”, State Committee on Environment Conservation and Forestry
· Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Soil Research Institute
Kyrgyzstan
· National Center for Mountain Regions Development
· Kyrgyzstan International University
5. Project on Community-Based Rehabilitation of Degraded Land in Balkan Countries. The project has been designed to address the interlinked problems of land degradation and human security in one of the world’s most important centers of biological and cultural diversity through fostering cooperation among land users, community organizations, scientists and policymakers at the local, national and regional levels. Specifically, the project will contribute to mitigation of the causes and negative impacts of land degradation on the structure and functional integrity of vulnerable ecosystems in the Balkan area and the livelihoods of the local populations dependent on them. The project partners include:
Serbia and Montenegro
· Facuty of Forestry, Belgrade University
Bulgaria
· N. Poushkarov Institute of Soil Science, National Center for Agrarian Sciences, Sofia
· Forest Research Institute – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia
Macedonia
· Faculty of Forestry, University "St. Cyril and Methodius", Skopje
Turkey
· Istanbul Technical University, Institute of Energy, Istanbul
· Istanbul University, Forestry Faculty, Istanbul
· Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Geography, Istanbul
· Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography, Canakkale
World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWC)
6. Training Programme on Land Degradation and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods. Combating desertification requires an intimate collaboration with local land users. This demands a thorough understanding of the processes of desertification, local knowledge and practices, local livelihood systems and cultural values, and, most of all, a new way of communicating with, and listening to, local land users. Through the PLEC project, it was also found that one of the major limiting areas for the involvement of professionals in dealing with land degradation problems is their lack of understanding of the complex issues related to land degradation and its impact on the human society. A working paper on land degradation, Guidelines for Field Assessment, was made available at the website (www.unu.edu/env/plec/l-degrade/index.html) to provide the necessary training and guidance. In cooperation with the University of East Anglia (UEA), UNU has sponsored several training courses under this programme in the past few years. UNU will be involved in executing the local-level assessment of land degradation and capacity building in the FAO/UNEP/GEF Land Degradation Assessment in Dry Areas (LADA) initiative, by co-sponsoring the training programme in Argentina, China, Cuba, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia. The training programme will be also open to relevant projects on land management in other countries.
7. Project on Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation, Enhancing Agricultural Biodiversity and Reducing Poverty in Ghana (SLaM). The project is a major offshoot of the UNU-PLEC. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to sustainable ecosystem-based integrated land management in globally, nationally and locally significant land resources in agricultural areas under threat, for greater ecosystem stability, enhanced food security and improved rural livelihoods. Achievement of this goal would be through the following two objectives:
a. Ecosystem recovery demonstration and upscaled in priority degraded lands, using best practices in sustainable land management to enhance ecosystem stability and functions, agricultural productive capacity, food security and rural livelihoods.
b. Enhanced capacity for mitigation of land degradation and sustainable land management through greater awareness, mainstreaming and policy reform. The SlaM is being implemented through a network of institutes and scientists in Ghana.
Implementing Partners
· Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon
· Institute of Renewable Natural Resource (IRNR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi
· University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale
· Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
· United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU/INRA)
8. Project on Enhancing the Traditional Tapade Cultivation System in Foutad Djallon Highland, Guinea. Tapades are productive and permanently cultivated fields enclosed by fences and created by farmers from the poor soils on Fouta Djallon Highland. In order to enhance the tapade production system and reduce the pressure on forests, this project will focus on developing live/wire fences and agroforestry to replace the old practice of collecting tree branches for fencing. The alternative fencing approach would help conserve increasingly scarce forests (and associated flora and fauna) and save time spent on fencing tapades for other productive activities. The project is expected to proceed under the FAO-Globally-Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme. The project will be implemented by the University of Conakry in collaboration with a network of partners in Guinea:
· Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée (IRAG)
· Direction Nationale de l’Agriculture
· Direction Nationale des Forêts et Faune
· Direction Nationale de l’Élevage
4. Other universities, which have collaborated with UNU or UNEP/GEF
· Uganda: Makerere University
· Egypt: Suez Canal University
· India: Jawaharlal Nehru University
· South Africa: School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North West University
· Nigeria: Dryland Research Centre, University of Maiduguri
ANNEX 2: ICARDA REGIONAL NETWORKS
ICARDA seeks to improve and integrate the management of soil, water, nutrients, plants and animals in ways that optimize sustainable agricultural production. Within the management of natural resources, emphasis on on-farm water-use efficiency is an important component of ICARDA's research philosophy. Much of this is done by providing technical backstopping, research planning support, and training to national partners and fostering regional and inter-regional networks. By using this philosophy, ICARDA continues to devolve research responsibilities to national agricultural research systems as they gain maturity in their research capabilities and strengthen their research infrastructure. The regional and inter-regional networks are as follows:
1. North Africa Regional Program (NARP): Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia
Regional Coordinator: Dr Mohamed El-Mourid
1 Rue
des Oliviers Menzah V 2037
Tunis, Tunisia
Phone (Office): (216) 71 752134/752099
Fax: (216) 71 753170
Tel (home): (216) 71 875304
E-mail: m.elmourid@CGIAR.ORG
2. Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program (NVRSRP): Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen
Regional
Coordinator: Dr Khaled Makkouk
15 G. Radwan Ibn
El-Tabib Giza (11th Floor)
P. O. Box 2416, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: (20-2) 5724358, 5681254, 5735829
Fax: (20-2) 5728099
E-mail: ICARDA-CAIRO@CGIAR.ORG
3. West Asia Regional Program (WARP): Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and the lowlands of southern Turkey
Coordinator:
Dr Ahmed
Amri
P.O. Box 950764, Amman 11195
Jordan
Tel: (962-6) 5525750, 5538602, 5517561
Fax: (962-6) 5525930
E-mail: ICARDA-JORDAN@CGIAR.ORG
4. The Arabian Peninsula Regional Program (APRP): Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen
Regional Coordinator: Dr Ahmed T.
Moustafa
Protected
Agriculture Specialist
E-mail: a.moustafa@CGIAR.ORG
P.O. Box 13979, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971-4-2957338
Fax: +971-4-2958216
5. Highland Regional Program (HRP): Highland areas of West Asia (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey) and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia)
Coordinator: Dr Moussa Gurgis Mosaad (working from ICARDA headquarters in Aleppo)
ICARDA Ankara office
P. O.
Box 39, Emek
06511 Ankara, Turkey
Tel: (90-312) 2873595, 2873596, 2873597
Fax: (90-312) 2878955
E-mail: ICARDA-TURKEY@CGIAR.ORG
Coordinator : Dr Ahmed Amri
ICARDA Tehran office
P. O. Box 111, Tehran 19835
Iran
Tel: (98-21) 2400 094 (office)
Fax: (98-21) 24018
E-mail: icarda@dpi.net.ir
6. CGIAR Collaborative Research Program for Sustainable Agricultural Production in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Dr Raj Paroda,
Head, CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit, and ICARDA Regional Coordinator for CAC
P. O. Box 4564 Tashkent 700000, Uzbekistan
Tel: +998-71 1372130, +998-71 1372169
Fax: +998-71 1207125
E-mail: pfu-tashkent@cgiar.org.uz
7. Latin America Regional Program (LARP)
Dr
Flavio Capettini
Km. 45 Carr. Mexico-Veracruz
El Batan, CP. 56130, Texcoco
Edo. de Mexico, MEXICO (for delivery of DHL packages)
Tel: +52 5804 2004
Fax: +52 5804 7558 or 7559
E-mail: f.capettini@CGIAR.ORG
ANNEX 3: UNIVERSITIES IN THE CWANA+ REGION
Note: This is a listing of universities in the region; potential partner universities for the CWANA+ Network will be selected from this group.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Botswana
· University of Botswana
Burkina Faso
· University of Ouagadougou
Mauritania
· University of Nouakchott
Senegal
· University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar
· University Gaston Berger of Saint-Louis
Sudan
· University of Khartoum
· Omdurman Islamic University
· University of Gezira
· Ahfad University for Women
· Bayan College for Science & Technology
· University of Juba
North Africa
Algeria
· Universit d'Alger
· Universit de Mostaganem
· Universit Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen
· Universit des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumedine
· Universit Amar Telidji de Laghouat
· Universit Saad Dahlab de Blida
· Universit des Sciences Islamiques Emir Abdelkader
· Universit Badji Mokhtar - Annaba
· Universit des Sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran
· Universit Djillali Liabs
· Universit de Batna
· Universit d'Oran Es-Senia
· Universit M'hamed Bouguerra de Boumerdes
· Universit de Skikda
· Universit de Ouargla
· Universit de Bjaia
· Universit Ferhat Abbas
· Universit Mentouri Constantine
· Universit de Jijel
· Universit Ibn Khaldoun de Tiaret
Egypt
· American University in Cairo
· Cairo University
· Al-Minya University
· Mansoura University
· Al Azhar University
· Assiut University
· Tanta University
· Helwan University
· Arab Academy for Science & Technology and Maritime Transport
· Ain Shams University
· Zagazig University
· Alexandria University
· Minufiya University
· Misr University for Sience and Technology
· October 6 University
· Modern Sciences & Arts University
· South Valley University
· Suez Canal University
· Misr International University
· Universit Senghor
· Universit Franaise d'gypte
Libya
· Garyounis University
· Seventh October Misurata University
· Al-Fateh University
· Academy of Graduate Studies
· Asmarya University
Morocco
· Al Akhawayn University
· Universit Mohammed
· Institut des Hautes Etudes de Management
· International Institute for Higher Education
· Universit Moulay Ismal, Facult des Sciences de Mekns
· Universit Hassan II - An Chock
· Universit Hassan II - Mohammadia
· Ecole National d'Agriculture de Meknes
· Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Gestion Informatique et Communication
· Ecole Suprieure d'Informatique et de Management
· Institut de Formation en Technologie Alimentaire
· Universit Chouaib Doukkali
Tunisia
· Universit Libre de Tunis
· Universit de Tunis El Manar
· Universit Ez-Zitouna
· Universit de Sfax
· Universit de la Manouba
· Universit du Centre, Sousse
· Universit de Novembre Carthage
Middle East and West Asia
Bahrain
· University of Bahrain
· Arabian Gulf University
· Gulf University
Iran
· Tarbiat Modares University
· University of Tehran
· Imam Sadiq University
· Payame Noor University
· Iran University of Science and Technology Tehran
· Arak University
· Amir Kabir University of Technology
· Isfahan University
· Shiraz University
· Power and Water Institute of Technology
· Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
· Petroleum University of Technology
· Kerman University
· Mazandaran University of Iran
· Shaheed Beheshti University
· K.N.Toosi University of Technology
· Sharif University of Technology
· Alzahra University
· Isfahan University of Technology
· Guilan University
· Sistan & Balouchestan University
· Lorestan University
· Shaheed Chamran University
· Yazd University
· Tabriz University
· Islamic Azad University, Najaf Abad
· Kar University
· Urmia University
· Zanjan University
· Islamic Azad University, Tehran South
· Kashan University
· Bou Ali Sina University
· Sahand University of Technology
· Semnan University
· Birjand University
· Parand Islamic Azad University
· Kish University
· Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
· Islamic Azad University, Region One
· Islamic Azad Univesity, Tabriz
· Qom University
· Shahrekord University
· Islamic Azad University, Falavarjan
· Ilam University
· Razi University
Iraq
· Ahlulbait University
· University of Sulaimani
· University of Baghdad
· University of Dohuk
· University of Salahaddin
· Basra University
· Al Qadisiyah University
Israel
· Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies
· Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
· Hebrew University
· University of Haifa
· Tel-Aviv University
· Al-Quds University
·