The Mediterranean region covers about 854 million ha, but only 118 million (or 14 per cent) are suitable for agricultural production. In North Africa and the Middle East (MENA), agricultural land covers about 5 per cent; in Egypt and Algeria, it occupies less than 4 per cent and, in Libya, less…

Sustainable development of pastoral and agro-pastoral systems, dominated by collective and/or tribal ownership of rangelands, is a key issue for the West Asia and North Africa region. These two systems are located in arid and semi-arid areas and are increasingly threatened by desertification…

The year 2013 witnessed progress both in research and overall operations of the Initiative. Two bilaterally funded programs for Iraq and Tunisia were launched offering new opportunities and models for engagement of US and regional research capacities. The research agenda was strengthened with…

The Menarid Knowledge Management initiative offers three services that will improve the effectiveness and wider use of IFAD projects – and potentially other rural development initiatives active in sustainable land and water management.

This document is a synthesis of outcomes from a knowledge process that was a collaborative effort involving researchers, scientists, and technicians from Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen.

MENA’s permanent cropland – currently at less than 6% of the total land area – is shrinking due to serious land degradation and recurrent droughts. The region faces the most severe water shortage in the world with annual renewable water resources per capita estimated to decline from 1,045 m3/yr…

A large number of vegetation indices have been developed and widely applied
in terrestrial ecosystem research in the recent decades. However, a certain limitation was
observed while applying these indices in research in dry areas due to their low sensitivity
to low vegetation…

There is a general consensus among academics, politicians and social movements, that BRICS as ‘new donors’ are increasing both their quantitative and qualitative role in defining what is considered to be ‘the world economic order’.
In particular, several authors have underlined the…

In Africa, mining activities are undertaken by private foreign entities, which pay taxes to the state. However, mining activities are not contributing as much as they should to national economies. Despite the increase in productivity and profits, the real benefits of mining have yet to be felt…

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of climate change on the geographical distribution of selected native species from two areas from West Asia and North Africa. Three species representing two genera were selected for assessment of their vulnerability to climate change. The first species was…

This report is the first in a series of publications that comprise the Iraq Salinity Assessment.
This report documents the current state, causes, impacts of salinity in central and southern
Iraq. Other reports in the Assessment propose solutions and investment options to
manage…