Workshops

This workshop will offer a set of comprehensive modules on land restoration in marginal environments through biosaline agriculture. The program will cover such topics as location-specific techniques for land restoration and stabilization in such environments. It will also provide an overview of the global impacts of climate change on natural vegetation and other things, the importance of crop biodiversity and integrated cropping systems, sustainable land and water resources management measures, and other important topics related to marginal environments such as salinity management.

The proposed Workshop is supported by the FCDO Gulf Strategic Fund, project Gulf Sustainable Agri-tech Discovery (GSAD) and ICBA, led by Rothamsted Research. The GSAD provides 3 years of support to broker UK and UAE research linkages in Agri-tech addressing ‘Agriculture under Climate Change’. Additional funds are also provided under UKRI BBSRC support to Rothamsted Research.

There has been growing interest in Central Asia in agricultural research. It has made substantial contributions to the economic development of Central Asian countries, particularly in the last 30 years. However, it is generally agreed that agricultural research institutions are now facing several challenges, including effectively and efficiently managing research and development projects.

Annual crop losses due to pests and diseases range between 20% and 40%, undermining rural livelihoods, national economies, and food security. Intelligent systems can help farmers make prompt in-situ diagnoses and facilitate effective response to plant diseases and pest attacks in their early stages.

The conference aims at bringing together scientists and practitioners in the water sector to inform exchange and raise awareness about latest knowledge and innovation in areas affected by water scarcity. It will highlight European and national Southern Mediterranean strategies on water, and will elaborate on innovations on water reuse from municipal wastewater treatment, the use of brackish water, seawater desalination, water efficiency and reuse in agriculture and will discuss decentralized solutions for sustainable development.

Background

The objective of the meeting is to highlight the progress and results made so far in the MENA-RDMS project and outline next steps. The meeting will also support cross-country learning on drought management from the project countries, as well as from beyond the region.

Key focus areas

The workshop aims to set out the water and food security challenges in Central Asian countries. It will present information on innovative technologies on the use of marginal water resources and their associated environmental impact, asking how they can be used to meet increasing demand in good quality water. A special focus will be on the role of science and its achievements that can be undertaken to improve water and food security in the marginal environments of the Central Asia region.

The main objectives are:

ICBA will organize in Beirut jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Energy and Water, USAID, and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln an invitation-only town hall meeting on drought management in Lebanon. The objectives are:

a) Validate the findings of the Lebanese ‘needs assessment’ carried out earlier in the year and obtain feedback before the final report is published;