FAO Representative, Mr. Serge Nakouzi and Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Hiroyasu Kobayashi shaking hand after the signing ceremony

The FAO Representative and Ambassador of Japan to Iran have exchanged notes  today (9 March 2016) at the Embassy of Japan in Tehran on donation of 436 million Japanese Yen (approx. 3.7 million USD) by the Government of Japan to FAO on “the Integrated Program for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Lake Urmia Basin”.  

“Through its generous contribution, Japan will enable FAO to lend its technical expertise, as a multidisciplinary specialized international technical agency, to partner with the Lake Urmia Restoration Programme and national stakeholders”, said the FAO Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Serge Nakouzi in his statement addressing Ambassador of Japan, officials and journalist attending the signing ceremony event.

“Together with the Urmia Lake Restoration Programme and national stakeholders, we shall strive within the framework of the four-year integrated programme lifecycle to implement a series of immediate measures needed to address the primary causes of water depletion in the lake itself and in its surrounding basin”, Nakouzi added.

The activities under this project will commence in April 2016 and will create a unique platform for stakeholder collaboration toward more precise water accounting, enhanced agriculture productivity, more sustainable livelihoods, drought monitoring and warning and capacity building. 

FAO for its part will lend its broad and extensive technical expertise in assessing water supply management, quantifying the related demand advising on the management and optimization of the allocation of water resources.

The Organization retains a unique comparative advantage in addressing issues pertaining to the sustainable management of water resources, particularly in this region where the water resources of countries are predominantly used in agriculture. 

Ambassador of Japan to Iran, Hiroyasu Kobayashi in highlighting the fact that environmental assistance has been one of the most important fields in the Japanese foreign policy said: “The Government of Japan intends to continue its various projects in environmental fields and we hope that the result of this cooperation will be to the benefit of not only Iran but of the whole region”

“global challenges cannot be dealt with by a single country, efforts at the regional level or by international community as a whole is required” he underscored.

For several decades, Japan has been amongst FAO’s foremost partners in sustainable development programmes aimed at securing a world free from hunger and caring for the earth.

The Urmia lake basin has an enormous environmental value and harbours a most unique ecosystem biodiversity and services.  It was in view of this that it was registered in 1977 as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Site and was designated as a National Park by the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran.