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
21 February 2008
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
New Project to Fight Rangeland Degradation in North Africa
Inaugural session of the new Vallerani Project to combat rangeland degradation in North Africa.
The Badia – rangeland used by traditional pastoralists in West Asia – is under threat. Widespread range degradation is severely affecting the livelihoods of millions of people and the health of the environment. Past work has shown how water harvesting systems can help capture runoff flows and rebuild vegetation in degraded Badia areas. One promising option is the Vallerani system, a special tractor-pulled plow that automatically constructs water-harvesting catchments, and is ideally suited for large-scale reclamation work. It has been tested under the Vallerani Water Harvesting Project, implemented jointly by ICARDA, Syria's General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Jordan's National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, and farm communities both countries. The Vallerani project is now being expanded to North Africa, to improve livelihoods and combat desertification in the marginal dry rangelands of the Maghreb region and Egypt.

A start-up workshop on 'Communal management and optimization of mechanized micro-catchment water harvesting in North African marginal drylands (Vallerani - North Africa)' was held in Rabat, Morocco, 10-11 January. The workshop was organized by ICARDA and the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA), Morocco.

Key speakers highlighted the potential of the new project. Mr Idrissi Ammari Abdelmajid, Acting Director of INRA, stressed the importance of range management in North Africa, and the need for concerted, collaborative research in micro-catchment water harvesting by ICARDA and the NARS. Dr Theib Oweis, Director of ICARDA-IWLMP, stressed the importance of water harvesting in dry areas. He described the success of the Vallerani project in Jordan and Syria, emphasizing the need for community participation and an integrated approach to natural resources management. Dr Mohammed El Mourid, Coordinator of ICARDA's North Africa Regional Program, expected the Vallerani North Africa project to protect fragile ecologies and simultaneously improve the living standards of the poor in the Maghreb region. Dr Mohammed Ismail, Food Security and Environment Advisor to the Arab Maghreb Union, said the project would open new avenues to ensure food security and ecological stability in the region.

The workshop was attended by 36 participants including policy makers, scientists and technologists from five Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia), a representative from the Arab Maghreb Union, and scientists from ICARDA. Two days of intensive discussions led to important outputs. All partners are now fully aware of the objectives and structure of the new project. A plan of work for 2008 has been developed, and possible funding options identified.
 

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) is one of the 15 international research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA 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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