ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: http://www.icarda.cgiar.org

9 October 2003
For more information contact: S.Varma@cgiar.org
International Conference on
Dryland Development

Scientists and science administrators from 25 countries met to explore how technology can help ensure sustainable development in the world’s dry areas, at the 7th International Conference on Development of Dry Lands, Tehran, Iran, 14-17 September 2003.
     The Conference, organized under the auspices of the International Drylands Development Commission (IDDC), was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Iran, and ICARDA. Additional support was provided by FAO and COMSTEC.
     The Conference was inaugurated by H.E. Eng. Mahmoud Hojjati, Minister of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Iran, and


Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA DG, discussed the
ongoing ICARDA-Iran collaboration with H.E. Eng.
Mahmoud Hojjati (center), Minister of Jihad-e-
Agriculture, and Dr Ali Ahoonmanesh, Deputy Minister
for Agricultural Research and Education, Iran.
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General and Chair of IDDC. They both stressed the importance of the drylands and the need to devise and adopt sound technologies for their sustainable development.
The conference comprised five plenary and 20 concurrent sessions for oral presentations on 12 themes relevant to the sustainable development of drylands. It provided a good forum for a large number of scientists from different disciplines to present and exchange results, experiences and views on various methods and technologies of efficient management and sustainable development of dryland areas.

Conference in progress. Front row (left to right): Dr Mukhtor
Nasyrov, Associate Professor, Samarkand University;
Acamedician J. Akimaliev, Kyrgyzstan; Dr M.H. Roozitalab,
Iran; and Dr R.G. Wyn-Jones, U.K.
     Some 217 participants made 100 oral presentations and 80 poster displays, covering soil and water degradation and conservation, forage and range management, biodiversity conservation and utilization, stress physiology, biotechnology, development and transfer of new technologies for dry lands, and study and exploitation of indigenous knowledge and heritage.
     Other dignitaries at the inaugural session included Dr Ali Ahoonmanesh, Deputy Minister for Agricultural Research and Education, Iran; Dr A. Bakhshandeh, Deputy Minister for Agricultural Economics and Planning, Iran; Dr. M. Emadi, Deputy Minister for Agricultural Extension and Farming Systems, Iran; Eng. S.M.H. Shariatmadar, Deputy Minister for Crop Production, Iran; Dr M.H. Roozitalab, Chairman, Global Forum on Agricultural Research; Dr Abdul Rashid, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representative in Iran; Dr J. Akimaliev, General Director, Kyrgyz Agriculture Research Institute and member of IDDC, Kyrgyzstan; Dr R.G. Wyn-Jones, Associate Director, Center for Arid Zone Studies, University College of North Wales, and member of IDDC, UK.
     In his closing address, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy thanked the host country for its overwhelming hospitality and the excellent arrangements and thanked all participants for their contribution to the success of the conference. He highlighted the achievements realized by the IDDC during the past decade, and stressed the need for further coordinated efforts among national and international institutions to arrest desertification, increase water productivity and improve community livelihood in dryland areas.
     The General Assembly of the International Conference on Dryland Development voted unanimously to hold its eighth conference in China in 2005. The participants also approved the new Executive Committee of the IDDC. The EC comprises Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, Chair; Dr Idris Trylor, Vice-Chair; Dr Wyn-Jones, General Secretary, and Dr Mohan Saxena, ICARDA’s Assistant Director General, as Executive Secretary. The General Body also agreed to organize an expert consultation in 2004 on ‘Why Invest in Dry Lands’ and to examine the ‘cost of inaction’ in preventing land degradation, with a view to ensuring continued interest of policy makers and donors in sustainable dryland development.

ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.
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