Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is one of the pioneering cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that have recently prepared urban sustainability agendas for their cities.

This document aims to contribute to the empirical development of effective approaches for the assessment of rangeland governance at local levels, and provide insights about major governance drivers through the quantitative assessment of their effects.

The living lab approach underlying LANDSUPPORT activities is aimed at involving policy and decision makers and potential users from the very beginning and throughout all project phases, ensuring that the delivered DSS tools can actually be used.

In response to the severe economic, social, and environmental costs of degradation across Tunisia’s rangelands, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has worked with the General Directorate of Forestry (Direction Générale des Forêts, DGF) to draw up a new pastoral code.

Stipagrostis pungens is a perennial grass species which belongs to the Poaceae family. It is usually found with several erect culms, grows up to 1.5 m in height, and forms substantial tufts. It is a tall stiff glabrous grass with pungent leaves, and a C4 grass with sclerophyllous, spine-tipped, inrolled leaves, with sunken stomata.

Widespread heat waves, floods, and droughts last year were a strong reminder of the threats posed by climate change. In the non-tropical dry areas where ICARDA works we are becoming accustomed to record high temperatures and increasing water scarcity year on year.

Soil erosion is a natural process causing serious land degradation problems. In Tunisia, soil
erosion represents a serious environmental problem. The Rmel watershed located in the
Governorate of Zaghouan in north-eastern Tunisia and covering an area of 679 square
kilometers, suffers from this problem. It was thus selected to estimate annual soil loss using the

In Northern Africa region, land administration and land management systems are characterized by the existence of various institutions and a diversity of land tenures. In order to meet the requirements of the new era, a series of emerging policies has been developed and implemented according to the national needs and to the international regulations.

Thorough analysis of present Tunisian law texts related to rangelands

The agricultural development on newly reclaimed lands has led to many national debates about food
security and budget deficits, and the living conditions of the new settlers at the local level. This debate
is still crucial for present day Egypt, a country facing major challenges, including food security, agriculture