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: www.icarda.org
17 August 2006
                             Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
Regional Forum on Natural Resource Policies
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) jointly organized a regional policy forum on "Natural resource policies in the Near East and North Africa: from management to governance" on 3-4 July 2006 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt. About 90 researchers, policymakers, and representatives from donor agencies, civil society, and the media attended.
Dr Ismail Serageldin, Director, Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Ms Gunilla Olsson, Director, Policy Division, IFAD; Dr Joachim von Braun, IFPRI Director General; and Dr Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA Director General, made statements during the opening session.

 Besides Dr Solh, Dr Abdelmajid Slama, Board Member; and ICARDA senior scientists—Dr Kamil Shideed, Dr Mohammed El Mourid, Dr Ahmed Mustapha, Dr Khalid Makkouk, and Dr Ali Nefzaoui— participated in the meeting.
Participants of the regional forum on natural resource policies.
Dr Slama played a vital role in planning and organizing the forum. Dr Nefzaoui, who was the focal person for the Tunisian study, made presentations.

The forum aimed to disseminate findings from a research project on empowering the rural poor under volatile policy environments in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region using Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan as case studies.

In her keynote address, Dr Mona Bishay, Director of IFAD's NENA Division, said empowerment is a complex concept that involves economic, political, and social issues. "…empowerment is an essential element and driver for poverty reduction…IFAD's strategy for the NENA region stresses empowerment of the rural poor, which implies changing the policy environment as well as the institutional set-up." Dr Bishay said the main objective of the IFAD-IFPRI research program was to examine how to support local institutions that empower the poor and help them adjust to an evolving policy and economic environment.

Dr von Braun made a presentation on "Policy and research issues in the governance of natural resources: enhancing productive cooperation in rural areas of NENA". The paper highlighted the mix of natural resources in the region, natural resource constraints, and the challenges of good governance of land and water. It also highlighted the broader governance issues relating to the use of natural resources.

Dr Solh presented ICARDA's role in natural resource management and policy in the NENA region. He said the challenges of agriculture in the region are diverse; and that governance and management rest on three pillars: improved technologies and innovations for sustainable resource use; socioeconomics and incentives to farmers; and an enabling environment. He gave several examples of ICARDA's NRM interventions in the region based on these pillars. Dr Solh said the way forward for sustainable use of natural resources in the fragile environments of NENA is to devolve resource management to local communities, provide secure property rights, and ensure equitable access to natural resources.

The forum provided policy orientation for the participants and a knowledge base for dialogue between policy makers and donors. Findings from the case studies were presented, and the policy implications for the region discussed. The participating institutions resolved to
•
revisit the models and tools used
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design a longer-term research agenda to better articulate empowerment within a poverty alleviation framework
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link-up with IFAD and IFPRI in the project.

ICARDA hopes to be involved in further research on empowerment as a tool to reduce poverty in its mandate regions.
  

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.
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