Implementing and Executing Agencies

The project will promote the conservation of wild relatives and land races of important agricultural species in the Near East region, by introducing and testing in situ and on-farm mechanisms and techniques to conserve and sustainably use agrobiodiversity.
        The project is divided into a regional component and four national components, one for each of the four participating countries: Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria.
        The regional component provides technical assistance and training to the national programs and serves to integrate the activities regionally through coordination, networking, monitoring of project activities, and impact assessment.  The regional component is executed and implemented by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in cooperation with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and the Arab Center for the Study of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD).
        Activities are implemented through the four national programs in West Asia.  In Jordan the project is executed by the Ministry of Agriculture and implemented by the National Centre for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT).  In Lebanon, the executing and implementing agency is the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI).  In Syria, the project is executed by the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (SMAAR) and implemented by the Scientific Agricultural Research Directorate of SMAAR.  In the Palestinian Authority, the executing agency is UNDP's Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP) and the project is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The GEF Project in West Asia

The Near East --10,000 years ago-- was the center of origin for a wide range of temperate crop and tree species that still underpin today's agriculture. It is particularly appropriate that it is in this region that some of the first positive steps are being taken to safeguard on both farm and community lands the landraces and wild relatives that still harbor so much genetic diversity.
By involving local farmers in conservation and management, as well as in passing on inherited knowledge and skills in how to grow and use the conserved plants, the benefits of this germplasm will remain available to bolster the fight against malnutrition and poverty. Thanks to the access provided by this material, plant breeders and scientists will have a sustainable supply of crossing material and genes conferring resistance to drought, salinity and other biotic and abiotic stresses which limit the yield of cultivated crops.

'Conservation and Sustainable Use of Dryland Agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority' is an $8.1 million project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme. Sixteen target crops, or crop groups of global significance, together with their wild relatives, are included. These range from wheat and barley through clovers and olives to pistachios and figs.

Implementation of the project on two sites in each participating country is by the national agricultural research systems (NARS), while the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is responsible for coordinating and executing the regional component. Also participating are the regional office of IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resource Institute) and the Damascus-based Arab Center for Studies of the Arid Zones and Dry Lands. 

For further information on the GEF Project on Agrobiodiversity, contact Dr Ahmed Amri of ICARDA (a.amri @CGIAR.ORG)