News from the Drylands 
   Swiss Grant for Desertification Project
    Agreement Signed on Presentation Day
T
he Government of Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), approved a grant to ICARDA for the research project entitled "Communal Management and Optimization of Mechanized Micro-Catchment Water Harvesting for Combating Desertification in the East Mediterranean Region." The project is aimed at improving livelihoods and reducing desertification in the marginal steppe areas of Syria and Jordan. The grant agreement was signed at ICARDA on 24 April 2004 by H.E. Jacques de Watteville, Ambassador of Switzerland to Syria, and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General.

Using a participatory approach, the project aims to develop an institutional framework for community-based implementation and management of micro-catchment water harvesting systems; improve the capacity of communities to manage common natural resources; enhance efficiency and effectiveness of rainwater use; optimize the design parameters of micro-catchment water harvesting systems; and identify the biophysical and socioeconomic parameters for the optimal application of micro-catchment water harvesting.

The agreement further strengthens the ties between ICARDA and Switzerland, which have included collaboration on such projects as renovation of traditional water supply systems and sustainable management of the agropastoral resource base in the Maghreb.
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