MEDCOASTLAND THEMATIC NETWORK

1. MEDCOASTLAND THEMATIC NETWORK EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU NETWORK Meeting of the Steering Committee, Plenary and Soil Atlas of Europe editorial board Ispra, 24-26 November 2004 Dr. Pandi Zdruli Project manager Status of the MEDCOASTLAND Project

2. Fig. 1 – Structure and links among Work Packages WP7 Retrieval of information National, Regional, EU research, studies, projects, policies, strategies, other WP6-S.Sammut WP Leader Workshop 5, debate and dissemination on Draft agreement to exchange data and develop regional long-term co-operation WP1 FORUM Internet based dissemination and communication, networking, co-ordination, International Conference WP5-T. Darwish WP Leader Workshop 4, research review, debate and dissemination on Guidelines for national and regional policies and management WP2-S. Kapur WP Leader Workshop 1, research review, debate and dissemination on Eco-system based assessment of soil degradation to improve land users concern and prompt action WP3-M. Badraoui WP Leader Workshop 2, research review, debate and dissemination on Income-product generating soil conservation management WP4-F.A. Kader WP Leader Workshop 3, research review, debate and dissemination on Participatory soil conservation management Input from selected projects and site visits MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT   

3. PR PDM PA PR PR Algeria Italy France Morocco PR PDM PA Spain PR Tunisia PR PDM PA Palestine Co-ordinator IAMB PR PDM PR PDM PA Lebanon Jordan PR PDM PA Egypt Syria Malta Turkey PR PDM PA PR PDM PA PR PDM PA PR PDM PA Network structure. PR = Researcher, PDM = Decision Maker, PA = Association of land / soil users MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT

4. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTObjectives • MAJOR GOAL • Mediterranean coordination and dissemination of land conservation management to combat land degradation for the sustainable use of natural resources in the Mediterranean region with special emphases on coastal areas • To achieve this goal we SHOULD: • Provide Information Retrieval • Complete the knowledge data base • Participate in workshops • Prepare reports for the proceedings • Participate actively in the project activities(i.e, inputs for the Newsletter, Forum, and outreach activities)

5. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 Situation at end of 2nd year of the project Work Package 1 - Internet based communication, dissemination and share of information - FORUM • The Web page is fully operational; • Knowledge databaseis available to non-partners; • Since March 2004 around900 people worldwide have visited our web page (almost 100 hits per month); • But the Internet-based FORUM on land degradation remain dormant (maybe competition with e-mail communication????);

6. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 Situation at end of 2nd year of the project Work package 2 – ECO-system based assistance to land users and land owners Responsible partner P11 (Univ. Çukurova, Turkey, S. Kapur) Printing Adana Proceedings was a success BUT Identification of common indicators TO ASSESS LAND DEGRADATION on the basis of available data and knowledge at local, national and regional scale IS NOT COMPLETED; Formulation of an eco-system based assistance methodology to prompt co-ordinated actions by land users, decision makers and researchers involved in land management IS FAR FROM OVER;

7. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Participants of the 1stWorkshop held in Adana, June 2003

8. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 Situation at end of 2nd year of the project Work package 3 – Income-Product Generating Soil Conservation Responsible partner P10 (IAV Hassan II, Morocco, M. Badraoui) • Formulation of a conceptual scheme to assess Income Generating Activities (NOT DONE) • Determining an income-product generating approach for soil conservation management in relation to economic and production aspects generated by the sustainable land management practices (NOT DONE) • In Marrakech was raised the question of definition of IGA and was proposed: “Activities / interventions / actions aiming at supporting land conservation measures (projects) by improving the income of the farmers”. IGA relates to agriculture reform, subsides, and conservation measures. (A GOOD STRAT THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING)

9. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Participants of the 2nd workshop held in Marrakech, Morocco 12-16 February 2004

10. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Mediterranean hospitality, Marrakech, Morocco, February 2004

11. Situation at end of 2nd year of the project Work package 4 – Participatory soil conservation management Responsible partner P3 (Alexandria University, F.A. Kader) MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 • Formulation of participatory schemes suitable to assist in combating land degradation • Thorough investigation of legislative aspects and their relationship to sustainable use and management of natural resources • Exploring the links between Participatory Irrigation Management and Participatory Land management • Public and private partnerships in land management • Drawing conclusions from indigenous knowledge in land management • Top down and bottom up approaches complement each other • Full papers for the workshop are due by the end of 2004

12. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Participants of the 3rd workshop held in Alexandria, Egypt 9-13 October 2004

13. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 What’s next Work Package 5 – Guidelines for national and regional policies for sustainable land management Responsible partner P5 (National Council for Scientific Research, Dr. T. Darwish) Workshop 4: Beirut, Lebanon 13-17 April 2005 Drafting Appropriate Policies and Guidelines to Support Sustainable Land Management in the Mediterranean Region”; Some possible topics for discussion • Reviews of existing Euro-Mediterranean regulatory framework and policies • Impacts of policies in sustainable land management at regional scale • The role of participatory and scientific context in policy development • Guidelines and policies and the wide range of boundary conditions including national and regional dimensions • The institutional framework and its influence in policy development • Results and conclusions derived from previous workshops • Guidelines and indications for the establishment of incentives for land-users (e.g., micro-credit) to enhance soil conservation • Development of economically sustainable measures that match with environmental quality

14. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECTIspra, (VA) November 2004 Workshop 4: Beirut, Lebanon 13-17 April 2005 Drafting Appropriate Policies and Guidelines to Support Sustainable Land Management in the Mediterranean Region”; Topics (con’t) • Establishing the role and responsibilities of rural communities, scientists, researchers, policy-makers and decision-makers in soil conservation • There is not such as “absolute perfect policy” universally suitable for all conditions. Policies and guidelines need to be adapted continuously and locally • If not implemented, even the best policies have no impact in combating land degradation and promoting sustainable natural resources management

15. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Concluding Remarks • Overall MEDCOASTLAND has been successful; • Thanks to it new ideas have emerged and new partnerships are becoming possible; • The follow-up of the Network however is still unclear; • Apart for continued International donor's support we are exploring local possibilities for financial support; • If funding will not be available to maintain the Network alive throughout the whole Mediterranean, neighbouring countries are encouraged to create regional networks i.e. for Maghreb or Middle East; • All of this is needed because combating land degradation is a long struggle and to prevail the support of all the stakeholders is needed.

16. MEDCOASTLAND PROJECT Thank you