Project Briefing

Conservation and Sustainable Use of Dryland Agrobiodiversity in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority is a five-year project aimed at ensuring the continuous availability of agrobiodiversity essential to the sustainable development of agriculture in the four countries/autority, as well as contributing to global food security and production.
         It is scheduled to last for five years from 1999-2004, using funding of $8.123 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) backed by in-kind contributions from the participating countries/authoruty and supporting organizations.

tion and land use rights where necessary and in the national interest to promote the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity; and
• Monitoring the impacts of project activities for lessons learned and adaptive project management.
         ICARDA, the executing institution of the regional component, in cooperation with IPGRI and ACSAD, provides technical assistance through:
• Integration of nationally-executed project components through co-ordination, networking and raising awareness;
• Technical backstopping, capacity building and training in in-situ and on-farm conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity; and
• Monitoring of project activities and their impact for lessons learned and adaptive project planning.

Why Near East agrobiodiversity is important

The modern territories of the Near East (including Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, southeast Turkey, southern Iran and northeastern and western Iraq) encompass an area of megadiversity of important food crop and pasture species. It is one of the few nuclear centers where numerous species (notably wheat, barley, lentil, pea and vetch) of temperate-zone agriculture originated 10,000 years ago, and where their wild relatives and landraces of enor-

         The project is being managed as five components. Each of the four participating countries/authority has its own nationally-executed component, with a national project manager, while the regional component coordinating the national components is being executed by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The regional coordinator ensures tight linkages between the four national projects and facilitates the positive impacts to be gained from networking and exchanges in experience and expertise.
         ICARDA, and other technical partners, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Arab Center for Studies of the Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), provide technical assistance and training for the national participants.

mous genetic diversity are still found. Many fruit trees such as almond, olive and pistachio also originated from this region and have dominated its traditional agricultural systems. They are present as a diverse range of wild relatives and local varieties. The biodiversity in this region is most outstanding for the within-species genetic diversity and the high number of endemic species. Furthermore, the indigenous crops and food plants of the Near East region are known for their resistance to disease and abiotic stresses, making them a valuable source of genetic material for germplasm enhancement upon which global food security depends.
         The Near East region supports some 48 million people and has an average, annual population growth rate of over 3%. For a majority of the people in this region, agricultural production is the principal economic activity. In an effort to achieve national food self-security, agricultural land use has been intensified and expanded, leading to degradation of vegetation, soils and water. Genetic diversity is seriously eroding through the destruction of natural habitats, intensification and expansion of cultivation and overgrazing in natural rangelands. Overgrazing is especially threatening annual herbaceous species such as wild relatives of wheat, barley and lentils. For tree crops and their wild relatives, regeneration can be seriously impaired as a result of overgrazing. The replacement of the traditional farming system by modern agricultural practices is endangering the existence of landraces. In addition, food demands and market forces have encouraged the replacement of the locally-adapted varieties (landraces and local varieties) of both fruit trees and field crops with higher-yielding cultivars, hence hampering the gene pools of these crops.

Summary

The project promotes the conservation and preservation of important wild relatives and landraces of agricultural species in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. It does this by introducing and testing in-situ and on-farm mechanisms and techniques to conserve and sustainably use agrobiodiversity, through the four national project components. Each country/territory is responsible for:
• Conducting eco-geographic surveys of crop target species;
• Promoting alternative land use practices at project sites to conserve and sustainably use agrobiodiversity;
• Increasing national capacity to provide training in in-situ and on-farm conservation techniques;
• Providing suggestions/options for modifying existing legisla-

* Executing agencies are UNDP/PAPP, Implementing agency is the Ministry of Agriculture.
  PAPP= Programme of Assistance for the Palestinian People.
  MoA= Ministry of Agriculture.

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