he Near East region is one of the major centers of plant diversity in the world. Conservation efforts are focused in tropical areas where rich species diversity abounds. However, it was only recently that interest in preserving biodiversity in a region of global importance such as the Near East started to grow.
        Biodiversity in this region is of unique significance because it is the center of diversity for two major staple food species. Wheat and barley were domesticated in this area some 10,000 years ago, as shown by the archeological findings at Tel Abu Hureyra and Tel Mureybit in Syria.
        Wheat provides about 33% of global food. Landraces and wild relatives of wheat are still found in the Near East region. Collection missions organized in the past by ICARDA have collected samples of this diversity and stored it in the Center's gene bank. The wild Triticum species, constituting the accessible genepools, have been used efficiently to transfer genes for resistance to major pests into cultivated durum and bread wheats. The preservation of these valuable genetic resources is vital to ensure sustainable genetic gains through breeding efforts.
        The collection missions and flora studies allowed the mapping of the geographic distribution of four major wheat wild progenitor species: T. boeoticum, T. urartu, T. dicoccoides and T. araraticum. All of these species are found in Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Only T. araraticum is not found in Lebanon while T. dicoccoides is the only species found in Palestine. Jordan has both T. dicoccoides and T. urartu. These two species, T. dicoccoides and T. urartu, are often found growing together. This supports the research finding that the A genome of cultivated durum and bread wheats originated from T. urartu rather than from T. beoticum.
        The ecogeographic and botanical surveys conducted within the GEF-UNDP project on conservation of dryland agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Syria, Palestinian Authority and Syria has allowed the scientists to gather important information on the distribution of these species in the target project areas.
        In Jordan, T. dicoccoides is found at Semta site within Ajloun target area but its population sizes are significantly reduced following the habitat destruction brought about by land reclamation operations and heavy grazing of the remaining strips along the roads and field edges. In the Bekaa' Valley of Lebanon, T. urartu is found only in ditches along the roads and in few remaining field edges in Deir Al Ahmar region.
        Larger populations of T. urartu and scattered plants of T. boeoticum were found during collection missions before 1995. Habitat destruction and the elimination of field borders, along with heavy grazing pressure, are seriously threatening these populations.
        At the Barqa monitoring area near Nabha, few plants of T. dicoccoides and T. urartu were found within an area rich with Aegilops species. In fact, eight species of Aegilops were recorded but farmers reclaiming the land for agricultural purposes could affect this diversity. At Ham/Maaraboun site in the Anti-Lebanon mountains, populations of T. dicoccoides and T. urartu were found mainly at Talet Sawda at an altitude of more than 1,700 m. This is the first time that T. dicoccoides has been reported at this altitude. These populations might hold genes for winter hardiness and for tolerance to cold needed for durum wheat. Unfortunately, these populations are also threatened by extensive overgrazing and habitat destruction. In Syria, none of the Triticum species were found in the target project sites at Al-Haffa. But at the Sweida target area, large populations of T. dicoccoides were recorded in most of the project sites, mainly at Sahwat Blata and Sahwat Al Khodr. In these latter sites, the populations are under serious genetic erosion due to the rapid reclamation of land for fruit tree plantations. In the dryland sites of Rashida and Al Mushanaf, overgrazing has reduced significantly the population of T. dicoccoides. The surveys were also able to observe T. urartu in the eastern part of Sweida province.
        In the Palestinian Authority, none of these species were encountered during the botanic surveys conducted by the project team even though the flora data and previous collection missions reported this species in Jenin target area. Heavy overgrazing and habitat destruction could have affected the distribution of these species.
        The project survey data showed clearly the rapid genetic erosion of the wild Triticum species in the region considered the heart of the genetic diversity for these species. The collection missions have been able to sample a total of 214 populations that had been conserved at the ICARDA-GRU gene bank facilities. These populations represent a fraction of the existing diversity of species in their natural habitats.
        The project launched with farmers at the sites of wild Triticum a number of activities for enhancing the in-situ conservation of these important genetic resources. These include rangeland management, water harvesting techniques, and protection from grazing. This form of dynamic conservation will continuously benefit the process of natural selection.
        However, farmers and herders value these species only as forage resources. Additional efforts from other stakeholders at the national and international levels must be devoted to the preservation of the genetic value of these species. Our project is working to develop community-based ways for promoting the preservation of these globally important species found only in this region.