FAO in the International Conference on Soil and Water Resources Management to Combat Desertification in Drylands

June 2022 - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) representation in Tunisia has contributed to the organization of the International Conference on Soil and Water Resources Management to Combat Desertification in Drylands (SWDCC) 2022 by the Institute of Arid Regions of Medenine from 14 to 17 June 2022 in the island of Djerda. 200 participants coming mainly from the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, attended the conference with the main aim of presenting, defending and discussing their research work around the five themes of the conference:

1. Climate change: vulnerability and adaptation in drylands

2. Mobilization and management of water resources

3. Soil degradation and conservation

4. Environmental monitoring and assessment in drylands

5. Geology, geo-resources and environment

Almost 250 abstracts of scientific papers were received, reviewed and ranked by the scientific committee of SWDCC. The most successful papers will be published in the Drylands Journal (2.299 IF).

FAO along with the other partners, provided the opening session of the conference. In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Philippe Ankers, FAO coordinator for the North African sub-region, stressed the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the issue of drylands in the face of climate change. These areas, which cover 90 percent of the land, are characterized by the fragility of ecosystems, by recurrent droughts of increasing duration and frequency, and an overexploitation of natural resources including water and soil.

Mr. Ankers emphasized "the need to address drylands and their ecosystems from different angles: technological, economic, political, social and of course environmental”. The outputs of the conference will help us move forward in our understanding of the problem and possible solutions.

FAO, through the regional project ‘Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for improving water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in the NENA region (WEPSNENA)’, organized a special session during the SWDCC dedicated to Water Productivity and Accounting for Sustainable Agriculture. The session allowed the restitution of part of the results of the project in Tunisia, whose authors had presented abstracts of scientific papers selected for oral presentations at the conference.

The session also introduced the two concepts of water productivity and water accounting to the scientific community attending, two concepts that are still new and whose presence remains timid at the level of research work in the NENA region. As a reminder, the WEPSNENA project in Tunisia has succeeded in advancing research and knowledge

on water productivity for three strategic crops for the country: cereals, olive and date palm. The project has also started the process of institutionalizing water accounting in Tunisia. To watch the recording of FAO’s session at the conference, please click here. For more information on the project, please visit the project website here.

This activity is carried out within the framework of the regional project "Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in the Near East and North Africa region", under the Water Scarcity Initiative. This project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.