UNU International Conference

 

Living with Desert

「沙漠とともに生きる」

 

 19 May 2004 – U Thant Hall, 3F
     United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan

Co-organized by:

United Nations University
	Environment and Sustainable Development Programme
	International Network on Water, Environment and Health
	Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Japan
	The Japanese Association for Arid Land Studies

click here for:

	Conference Programme
	Abstracts
	Conference Poster (jpeg 280 KB)
	Japanese Website

Conference Objectives:

	Review global research on drylands
	Integrate key drylands and desertification issues
	Summarize successful approaches for managing drylands

Background:

For many years, UNU has undertaking research and capacity building focused on drylands. This dates back to UNU’s early years, such as putting emphasis on desertification issues during the 1976-1982 period. More recently, UNU had initiated a project on “Integrated Land Management in Drylands” from 1998 to 2003. This entailed holding a series of technical workshops that focused on sharing of information, promoting South-South collaboration and development of an expert network. The regional focus of this activity encompassed North Africa, Middle East, and Asia. The technical workshops held were:

	1998 - New Technologies to Combat Desertification (Tehran, Iran)
	1999 - Water Management in Arid Zones (Médenine, Tunisia)
	2000 - New Approaches to Water Management in Central Asia (Aleppo, Syria)
	2001 - Integrated Land Management in Dry Areas (Beijing, China)
	2002 - Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (Alexandria, Egypt)
	2003 - Challenges for Drylands in the New Millennium (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)

These meetings helped in synthesizing findings on sustainable management of drylands resources, which are summarized in a set of publications entitled “UNU Desertification Series.” This networking also led to a strong partnership with the following international agencies and research institutions:

	UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB)
	UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
	International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
	Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Japan

As the title “Living with Deserts” for the conference indicates, the discussions in the conference does not only focus on the issue of combating desertification but of man living in harmony with the desert. Particular attention will be given to approaches for managing drylands and to enhance human well being as well as issues of particular concern to UN CCD. Indigenous knowledge and traditional techniques play an important role in this context. Return to top é

Conference Programme:

08:30-09:00	Registration
09:00-09:15	Welcome Remarks Prof. Hans van Ginkel (UN Under-Secretary General and Rector, UNU)
09:15-11:00	Keynote Speeches Learning Lessons from Arid Land Studies Prof. Iwao Kobori (Senior Programme Advisor, United Nations University) Harnessing New Science to Combat Desertification Dr. Adel El-Beltagy (Director General, ICARDA) Water, People and the Desert Dr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (Deputy ADG for Natural Sciences, UNESCO)
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break
11:30-13:00	Session 1 Abkhandari (Aquifer Management): A Green Path to the Sustainable Development of Marginal Drylands Prof. Ahang Kowsar (Senior Researcher, Fars Research Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iran) A Quantified Evaluation on Development of Sandy Desertified Land for Last 50 Years in the North China Dr. Wang Tao (Director, Cold and Arid Regions Research Institute, China) Approaches for Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands Dr. Zafar Adeel (Assistant Director, UNU-INWEH, Canada)
13:00-14:30	Lunch Break
14:30-16:00	Session 2 A Participatory Approach for Combating Sand Dune Encroachment in the Sahara desert: An Experience from Mauritania Prof. Houcine Khatteli (Director General, Institut des Regions Arides, Tunisia) Reviving Ancient Water Tunnels in the Desert: Digging for Gold? Dr. Joshka Wessels (Sapiens Productions, United Kingdom) Port City, Monastery and Bedouins Dr. Mutsuo Kawatoko (Near and Middle East Culture Centre, Japan)
16:00-16:30	Coffee Break
16:30-17:30	Panel Discussion Panelists: Dr. Adel El-Beltagy, Dr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy and Prof. Motoyuki Suzuki Moderators: Dr. Shinobu Inanaga, Dr. Zafar Adeel
17:30-17:45	Closing Address Prof. Itaru Yasui Vice Rector, United Nations University

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Download Conference Registration Form:
Click here: MS Word (40 KB)

UNU-INWEH's Drylands Projects: 

	Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands
	Traditional Water Management Technologies