13 June 2017
Israel helps arid countries combat
desertification
Desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas as a result of human activity, climate change and various
additional factors. As a result of land degradation, yields decrease and, in
their wake, the economic situation of peasants, particularly in the poorer
areas of developing countries, worsens and frequently leads to hunger, strife
and massive emigration.
In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly designated
June 17 as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought,
in order to promote public awareness, and this date has been observed since
1995. The World Day to Combat
Desertification is a unique occasion to remind everybody that desertification
can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to achieve
this aim lay in strengthened community participation and co-operation at all
levels.
In her brief on the occasion of this year's World Day
to Combat Desertification, the Executive Secretary noted, "... this
year, the Convention is calling for a focus on making the land and life in
rural communities viable for young people. As the global population edges
towards at least 9 billion, in Africa alone 200 million of the 300 million
young people entering the job market over the next 15 years will be living in
rural areas. Let’s give young, rural
populations better choices and options. We need policies that enable young
people to own and rehabilitate degraded land.
There are nearly 500 million hectares of once fertile agricultural land
that have been abandoned. Let us give young people the chance to bring that
natural capital back to life and into production. If we secure access to new technologies and
to the knowledge they need, they can build resilience to extreme weather elements
like drought. With the right means at
their disposal, they can feed a hungry planet and develop new green sectors of
the economy. They can develop markets
for rural products and revitalize communities. With the right type of
investments in land, rural infrastructure and skills development, the future
can be bright. We have to send a clear
message that if it is well managed, the land can provide not just enough to get
by, but a place where individuals and communities can build a future…."
The
State of Israel places special emphasis on the critical issues of international
development cooperation and assistance in the fight against desertification and
development in dry lands by introducing international cooperative programs of
training, project development and research. This includes efforts in areas such
as adaptation to climate change, soil erosion, salinization, groundwater
management, and forestation.
As a
signatory to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Israel transfers
to the affected countries in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America the
technologies that were developed and tested in the extreme conditions of the Negev
desert. Indeed, Israel started this
process of transference of knowledge already during the late fifties of the
previous century. The majority of Israel's Official Development Assistance (ODA)
is based on technical assistance and the sharing of accumulated Israeli
know-how, technologies, and expertise through consultancies, capacity-building
and training activities both in Israel and in partner countries. Among Israel's
areas of expertise are water recycling, water management, irrigation,
agriculture in arid environments, soil erosion, salinization, mitigation and
adaptation to climate change, and afforestation. Extensive R&D and decades
of hands-on experience in coping with drylands conditions enable Israel to help
other countries.
MASHAV,
Israel's Agency
for International Development Cooperation, has been active in organizing training
courses and knowledge transfer since late 1957. In 2016 it conducted over 20
courses for professionals from various countries on subjects such as combating
desertification, water management, effects of climate change on agriculture,
forestation, and irrigation techniques.
MASHAV also provided a total of 40
"on-the-spot" training courses in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos,
India, Philippines, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Colombia, Ethiopia,
Cameroon, Togo, South Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, involving over 700
participants. One important emphasis is providing solutions to smallholder farmers
in rural areas.
MASHAV joins other actors and
institutions in mobilizing Israeli society at large and Civil Society
Organizations in particular, to further engage in international development and
foreign aid. One of the CSOs is the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert
Research (BIDR) that, through its international graduate school, offers a
variety of courses that deal directly with desertification, land degradation
and drought (DLDD) issues. About half of the students are foreign, out of which
more than two-thirds come from affected countries.
Israel works closely with the UN
Convention for Combating Desertification and its Executive Secretary in order
to match its major efforts in the area to the UNCCD's goals, plans and
framework.