The year of 2008 marked the beginning of a new phase at ICARDA: the full implementation of the Center's Strategic Plan 2007-2016, and a renewed commitment to addressing the global challenges of food security, poverty alleviation and climate change in the dry areas. It was also a year of adversity, both locally and globally. At ICARDA's main research station in Syria, the 2007/2008 cropping season experienced drought combined with wide variations in temperature, falling to -12°C in winter and rising to 37°C in the early spring.

The year 2005 was an important milestone in the efforts of ICARDA and its partners in meeting the global challenges of agriculture in dry areas through the application of science. In an assessment of all 15 CGIAR Centers (based on science quality and relevance, impacts, partnerships, and financial and institutional health), conducted by the CGIAR in collaboration with the Science Council and the World Bank, ICARDA was rated outstanding" - one of only two centers to receive this rating.

Strong partnerships with national agricultural research systems and other stakeholders constitute the backbone of ICARDA’s research agenda. The outreach programs of the Center play a key role in promoting partnerships in their respective sub-regions and in implementing collaborative research and training programs. To make an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the partnerships, the Board of Trustees of ICARDA commissioned an external review of its outreach programs in 2003.

ICARDA continued to play a critical role in the development, improvement, and dissemination of climate-resilient crop varieties last year. The varieties strengthened food and nutritional security and provided a critical defense against extreme temperatures, water scarcity, and the emergence of new pests and diseases.

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. Resilience and climate change adaptation are at the heart of ICARDA’s new Strategic Plan 2017-2026 – a bold and ambitious effort to harness cutting-edge science and deliver the tools and technologies that smallholder farmers need to maintain agricultural production and protect their livelihoods.

Rangelands are the mainstay of pastoral livelihoods worldwide. Within rangelands, there are landscape depressions or lowlands characterized by high production potentials with their unique edaphic and hydrologic properties. The purpose of this ongoing research is to evaluate the effect of grazing exclusion on the vegetation characteristics and plant community structure in the arid lowland pastoral ecosystems. Plots were randomly identified within two distinct lowlands in Majidya and Sabha, in the Jordanian Badia.

In 2004, ICARDA began strategic visioning, driven by the global focus on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the realignment of the CGIAR System priorities by the Science Council. It involved, among other actions, a consolidation of the 19 research projects into six mega-projects for better integration of the Center’s multidisciplinary teams, and an increased use of new tools of science in addressing the problems of poverty and degradation of natural resources.

This issue of Caravan describes the new program, and some of the research innovations it will build on. The issue begins with two ‘opinion pieces’ by scientists from partner organizations in the CRP. They share lessons learnt from past successes (and failures), and ideas that could be applied to dryland

2016 was the hottest year on record – the third consecutive record-breaking year. It was a sign that we have to act fast to enhance the resilience of dryland farmers, who not only have to contend with more extreme temperatures but also face rapidly depleting water resources and the destructive effects of new pests and disease.

ICARDA witnessed several important developments in 2006. Of these, the Fifth External Program and Management Review (EPMR) was the most significant, as it provided a comprehensive assessment of the Center's global activities, as well as new insights and dimensions that helped refine ICARDA's new Strategic Plan for 2007- 2016. The EPMR coincided with a transition in the governance and leadership of ICARDA.

2014 went on record as the hottest year ever measured, a telling sign that climate change is already here. The agriculture sector is predicted to take the heaviest toll, with the hardest hit being smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in dry areas. With rising temperatures and greater stress on water resources, agricultural productivity is set to experience a substantial decline. Yet against these odds, we need to produce progressively more to feed a rapidly growing world population.

The presentation discusses the application of the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) approach to enhance rangeland governance under constraining land tenure systems in the South of Tunisia.