Summary of other activities conducted by the Project Components
(July-September 2000).

Jordan
• The Project Manager's meeting with 60 farmers at Ajloun
  (Rawabi site), helped understand the project objectives and
  future activities. A majority of the farmers reported that the
  olive trees and the grapes distributed by the government
  were not as well adapted as the landraces of the same
  species used earlier;
• The NGO 'Haya Cultural Center'is interested in establishing
  educational biodiversity nurseries for children. The
  Agrobiodiversity Project in Jordan will provide plant material
  and pictures of target species;
• The Administration of Extension, Rural development and
  Environment has been contracted to undertake project public
  awareness activities;
• Dr Ajlouni, the National Project Manager, presented the
  project achievements and work plan to the participants of the
  10^th Jordan/ICARDA Coordination meeting. Collaboration
  with other projects in the areas of alternative resource income
  and medicinal plants was discussed.

Lebanon
• Two project assistants, Ms M. Yazbek and Mr M. Monzer
  attended a sub-regional workshop on 'Integrated policy,
  property rights and technology transfer modeling' at LARI 3-7
  July 2000. The workshop was organized by the Mashreq-
  Maghreb Project;

• During the TPR meeting held at the UNDP Headquarters in
  Beirut, Dr Seblani, Coordinator, UN-CDR, promised to seek
  additional government funds for the Project. In another
  meeting, Dr Seblani informed the Project Manager that a
  support of US$ 250,000 has been earmarked within the 2001
  budget, and needs to be approved by the Parliament;
• The Project Manager, Dr Wafa Khoury, initiated contacts with
  local communities to encourage the establishment of local
  NGOs and cooperatives. In this regard, the project is helping
  the communities at Nabha to form a local farmers'
  association. At Ham, the project team discussed, with 12
  farmers, the basic requirements for establishing such local
  NGOs.
• Ms Nada Nashif, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative,
  and Ms Dima Al-Khatib, met with the Director, LARI, and the
  project team at Tel Amara. They then visited the project site
  at Ham, and had discussions with the Mukhtar of the
  community;
• The Project Manager and the Project Administrative Assistant
  attended, along with other managers of ongoing UNDP
  projects, a 1-day training session on project administration
  organized by UNDP. The training covered the roles and
  responsibilities of project implementation, project monitoring
  and reporting tools and processes, UNDP execution
  modalities, financial operations, procurement  and
  contracting, recruitment and personnel issues;
• The Project Manager and the National Project Coordinator
  attended a 1-day workshop 'Environment and development
  indicators', organized by the Lebanese Environment and
  Development Observatory (LEDO) at Broumana on 21
  September 2000.