Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days

Dates and venue: 15-18 December 2013, Hotel  Le Meridien Amman, Jordan

Focus: Land and water management –technologies, approaches and modalities to secure sustained improvements on the ground and improved resilience.

Target group: policy makers, practitioners, donors and researchers to share and learn together about effective ways to enhance for Land and Water management practices in the region.

Format: Interactive event with a share fair and market place, policy dialogues, technical sessions, trainings and posters presentation.

WHY?

The inherent scarcity of land and water resources in the Near East and the North Africa (NENA) Region is accentuated by the looming threat of climate change and unprecedented levels of pressure on natural resources stemming from persistent high, population growth, inadequate consumption patterns and a rapid urbanization. The achievement of effective and sustainable management of land and water is thus critical for food security in the Region. The region has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on management systems supporting sound land and water productivity; yet, many successful experiences are limited in scope and in space, or not well documented or disseminated.

WHAT?

The “Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days” (NENA LWD) aim to fill this knowledge gap, by providing countries of the regions and their development partners with a platform to learn from each other, share experiences, discuss lessons learnt – what works, and do not work- and promote best practices on water and land management.

The following themes will be covered during the days:

• T1-Transboundary water resources management;

• T2- Exploring alternative water sources : lessons learned from experiences and way forward;

• T3- Regional cooperation mechanism for integrated water and land management;

• T4- Groundwater protection, management and governance;

• T5- Rainfed agriculture: financing climate smart agriculture projects;

• T6- Making research and science reach farmers and end users; 

• T7- Sustainable Watershed & land management: learning experiences;

• T8- Water and Land tenure governance: implementation of voluntary guidelines;

• T9- Building resilience in agricultural systems: soil conservation and fertility management;

• T10- Irrigated agriculture: modernizing irrigation systems & adaptative strategies;

• T11- Land & water poverty and food security;

• T12- Economics of land and water

This event builds on the FAO global Land and Water Days held in May 2012 in Rome in cooperation with IFAD and WFP. They are in line with the 2013 UN-International year for water cooperation and are closely linked to FAO Initiative on Water Scarcity in the Near East (2013).

WHO?

The Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days (NENA LWD) are convened by FAO, with the Government of Jordan, UNESCO, AWC, GIZ, ICARDA, IDRC, AFDB, World Bank, ESCWA, DRC, IWMI, NWRC, ACSAD, IFAD, AOAD, CEDARE, ARC/SWERI, WFP, UNCCD, LAS, EU, etc.  
The NENA LWD will bring together policy makers, practitioners, donors and researchers to share and learn together about effective ways to enhance for Land and Water management practices in the region.

WHEN?

The Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days will extend to 15-18 December 2013.
To register to the event apply on line: https://www.research.net/s/NENA-LWD-2013-Register (This survey is currently closed.)

HOW?

This four Days will offer a forum of discussion to address :

• The scarcity of natural resources, exacerbated by climate change, and the need for appropriate response in terms of the soil and water management practices;,

• The performance of projects implemented across the NENA region in terms of their sustainability, effectiveness, benefits and their replicability

• The availability of technical knowledge and its effective application in the field;

• The need to develop new models of sustainable agriculture intensification based on resilience building and adaptability;

• The policies and strategies to support those models.

The Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days will be structured around :

• Policy dialogues and Public debates will gather policy makers, practitioners and researchers to address major policy issues through analysis of case studies.

• Interactive technical sessions and Thematic Cafés for thoughtful discussions and experience sharing of decades of land and water interventions;

• A marketplace for interactive knowledge exchange for putting within reach tools, methods, products from regional interventions giving practitioners the opportunity to network with peers and fellows from NENA region.

OUTCOME

The Near East & North Africa Land and Water Days will produce knowledge management tools that are to serve and facilitate at regional level:

• Formulation of evidence-based policies

• Development of land and water related strategies

• Replication of best practices of field interventions

• Improvement of national practices

NEXT

The Land and Water Days