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.​