The workshop was held in Amman, Jordan from 3 to 6 April 1993, in response to the kind invitation of the Jordanian Ministry of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs. It was jointly organized by the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States and the. FAO Regional Office for the Near East. The objective of the workshop was to explore national and regional efforts for the conservation and sustainable development of rangelands in the Arab Region and to highlight its role in combating desertification.
The workshop programme comprised regional papers prepared by ACSAD and FAO/RNEA, sub-regional papers covering North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, and country papers presented by participants from member countries. A field trip was organized by the Jordanian Ministry of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs to Ma'in Pilot Grazing Perimeter to witness a viable example of range rehabilitation and management in collaboration with beneficiary communities.
The participants of the workshop achieved consensus on several recommendations the most prominent of which were the need to:
Specifically the workshop recommended:
The Workshop on Maintenance and Development of Rangelandand its Role in Combating Desertification in the Arab Region was held from 3 to 6 April 1993 in Amman, Jordan. It was jointly organized, within the framework of the programme of the Council of Arab Ministers of Environment, by the Secretariat General League of Arab States {LAS} and the Regional Office for the Near East of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/RNEA). Both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Arab Centre for Studies of Arid Zones and Drylands (ACSAD) collaborated in the planning and implementation of this activity. The workshop was hosted by Jordanian Ministry of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs.
Rangeland is an important resource in most Arab countries in view of its social, economic and environmental roles. A good proportion of the population in these countries traditionally subsist on, or derive most of their income from, various range-based livestock production systems. Recently, rangeland has been subjected to increasing grazing pressure, encroachment of other land use types and adverse effects of ill-conceived interventions with the result that rangeland degradation and desertification became common features of large stretches of land.
The workshop provided a forum for exchanging views and sharing experiences among experts and officials from countries of the Region, regional organizations and centres, facilitated identification of common problems and constraints, and provided the opportunity to discuss possible solutions and pertinent interventions for areas with similar socio-economic and environmental conditions.
The purpose of organizing the workshop was to explore regional and national efforts for the conservation and sustainable development of rangelands in the Arab Region and highlight their role in combating desertification. Specifically, the workshop aimed:
The meeting was addressed by the representative of the League of Arab States, Mr. 1. Ben Barka, who drew attention to the fact that the workshop was being held under this year programme of the Council of Arab Ministers of Environment, and provided an excellent opportunity for bringing together distinguished Arab Experts representing their countries, regional and international organizations, for exchanging views and experiences in combating desertification, and rangeland degradation, as well as on possible interventions to arrest this phenomenon and enhance sustainable development of rangelands.
The representative of FAO Regional Office for the Near East, Dr. N. E. Gaddes, emphasized FAO's leading role in the field of sustainable development of drylands. He stressed on the need for enhancing cooperation among countries and between them and various organizations operating in the Region in order to implement comprehensive and sustainable rangelands development programmes that would also check rangeland degradation and reduce the rate of desertification.
In his speech, His Excellency Dr. A. Tabeeshat, Minister of Municipalities, Rural and Environmental Affairs, welcomed the participants and outlined efforts of the Jordanian Government in the fields of environmental conservation and for combating desertification. He hoped that the workshop would propose practical and effective measures to enhance present programmes and pave the way for further actions that would assist countries of the Region in their untiring efforts to check desertification and rehabilitate degraded rangelands.