Signing Memorandum of Understanding Between the Ministers of Agriculture of
Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria
Ministry of Agriculture
Wednesday 29 June 2005
Welcoming remarks by Ms. Mona Hider
UNDP Resident Representative a.i.
Your Excellencies Ministers of Agriculture,
Dr. Trad Hamadeh,
Dr. Walid Abed-Rabboh,
Dr. Adel Safar,
& Dr. Yousef Shuraiki
Dr. Adel El-Beltagy, Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA),
Dr. Farouq Faris, Director General Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD),
Mr. Timothy Rothermil, Special Representative of UNDP Jerusalem
Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlement
It is an honor to be standing here today in my capacity of UNDP Resident Representative and address you on this special event.
The Near East is an area of megadiversity of important food crop and pasture species. It is one of the few nuclear centers where numerous species such as wheat, barley, lentil, and pea originated some 10,000 years ago, and where their wild relatives and landraces of enormous genetic diversity are still found. Many fruit trees, for example almonds, olives and pistachios are also originated from this region, have dominated its traditional agricultural systems, and are still present here as a diverse range of wild relatives and local varieties.
The UNDP-GEF agrobiodiversity project implemented by ICARDA and the National Agricultural Research Centers and Ministries of Agriculture in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan has contributed significantly to the understanding of the threats and opportunities for conserving agrobiodiversity in our region. The project raised awareness at local, national, and international levels and on the value and importance of agrobiodiversity conservation. It also worked on building the capacity to understand and solve issues associated with agrobiodiversity conservation, and has build knowledge on the various elements impacting on the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity resources. One of the main pillars of this project included working closely with the local communities in all the concerned countries, in order to demonstrate the on the ground methods for agrobiodiversity conservation and the benefits the ensue. The local communities and farmers are the corner stone on which the conservation and promotion of agrobiodiversity in this region depends.
However, most importantly, the project has prepared the ground for signing today’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the four countries. The MoU will encourage and promote the conservation of agrobiodiversity in the four countries and facilitate and regulate the exchange of genetic resources. It will open the doors for further cooperation between these countries in terms of sustainable use of agrobiodiversity, which in turn brings our countries a step closer towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for achieving environmental sustainability, eradication of extreme poverty, and promoting gender equality and empowering women.
We all look forward to the signing of this important Memorandum of Understanding and look forward to continued cooperation between all the governmental agencies, national as well as international research centers for the continued integration of principles of agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable use into national and regional strategies and policies.
All the best and thank you,