Land and Water Days in the NENA Region 2019 (3)

31 March - 4 April 2019. Cairo. Land and Water Days in the NENA Region 2019 :

1 April: Governance of Oases ecosystems: Challenges and perspectives

• NENA oases overview : a strategic role for a fragile ecosystem, Noureddine Nasr (see picture) FAOSNE
  
  "We are looking for new tools and technologies for the youth to remain motivated to work and live in the oasis. And this will be different from the past."
• Presentation of the Maghreb advocacy strategy for the oases conservation : towards an international strategy, Patrice Burger (see picture) , President of the associative network for the oases sustainable development (RADDO)
  
  
  
  "Degradated land are degradated lifes"
  
  "One third of the world population are hosted in drylands. If nobody works on the oasis the oasis will collapse"
  
  "Oasis can learn us a lot about agricultural intensification"
• The importance of social and economic innovations through traditional water system management: Aflaj of Oman, M. Mohsin Ambu Saidi, Community Falaj manager, Oman 
• Sustainable Land and Water Management in the Oases of Egypt’s Western Desert, Ms. Martina Jaskolski, American University in Cairo

Background

Né en novembre 2001, le Réseau Associatif de Développement Durable des Oasis est un réseau international d’associations actives au Maghreb et au Sahel pour la sauvegarde des Oasis et pour la promotion du développement durable en milieu oasien. En lien étroit avec les acteurs locaux, il est présent en Tunisie, au Maroc, en Algérie, en Mauritanie, au Tchad et au Niger.

La création du RADDO répond à un cri lancé par les oasiens d’Afrique soucieux d’enrayer le déclin des oasis. Depuis plusieurs années, un ensemble de bouleversements et de mutations socioculturelles ont engendré un dysfonctionnement de ces écosystèmes très riches. Leur existence, ainsi que le patrimoine social et culturel de grande valeur qu'elles diffusent sont aujourd'hui menacés.

Patrice Burger has started as entrepreneur in agri tourisme in France. His experience was requested in Africa (Burkina Faso)  for the establishement of ecological tourism and agroecology training. As civil society representative he was part of the Rio ( 1992/2002/2012) process and the multilateral environment agreements. ( MEAs) . He became a whistleblower for landdegradation concerns, agricutral transition based on agroecology and oasis safeguard. In 2011 he has been  CSOS representative and speaker in the UN general assembly in New York. He  founded several CSOs and CSOs networks like GTD ( desertification), RADDO (Oasis), ReSaD ( desertification) and Drynet ( desertification) . His experience made him an expert in the Un Convention to combat desertification ) and is currently chair of the French NGO ( CARI) and member of several boards of national and international organizations.  

Related:

Crop Ecology, Cultivation and Uses of Cactus Pear Final version Edition

http://repo.mel.cgiar.org/handle/20.500.11766/8263
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization; Final version edition (January 29, 2018)
Language: English
The Arabic translation will shortly be launched in Egypt. 

Cactus plants are precious natural resources that provide nutritious food for people and livestock, especially in dryland areas. 

• This book provides fresh insights into the plant's genetic resources, physiological traits, soil preferences and vulnerability to pests, providing invaluable guidance on managing the resource to support food security. 
• The publication also offers tips on how to exploit the plant's culinary qualities as has been done for centuries in its native Mexico and more recently in Sicily. 
• Originally published in 1995, this extensively revised edition reflects the considerable new knowledge that has been generated over the past 20 years. 

The fruit and young cladodes can be consumed by humans, and there is growing interest in its use as fodder. In Brazil, a plantation of over 400 000 ha in the northeast region serves as a key component in supporting livestock production in the country’s semi-arid regions. The cultivation of cactus pear for use as fodder is also being adopted in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Furthermore, its medicinal properties and industrial uses are being researched and promoted. The FAO-ICARDA International Technical Cooperation Network on Cactus (CactusNet) was established in 1993 to support the promotion of this underutilized crop. The first edition of this book, Agro-ecology, cultivation and uses of cactus pear, was published in 1995. During the last 20 years much knowledge on cactus pear has been generated, and this is reflected in this extensively revised edition in 2017.