Transcript Desert Ecosystems and Livelihoods Program - Harnessing the Value of Deserts 4th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers October 5-6, 2010, Tunis. Introducing the MENA-DELP  Goal:

Desert Ecosystems and Livelihoods
Program - Harnessing the Value of
Deserts
4th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers
October 5-6, 2010, Tunis.
Introducing the MENA-DELP
 Goal: To capture and harness the
value of desert ecosystems in
providing goods and services for
sustainable development
 Specific Objectives:
1. To assess the value of deserts
and identify value hotspots
2. To highlight deserts as a major
global natural heritage
3. To enhance desert production
systems and livelihoods
4. To conserve desert biodiversity
5. To generate new opportunities
such as renewable energy
Ecosystem Services of the Sahara and
Arabian Deserts
Brief snapshot
• Source of at least 50% of the mineral
fertilization of the Amazon rainforest
• Agricultural heritage systems built
over centuries around agrobiodiversity critical for food security
today
• Innovative water management
systems under scarcity and new
threats from climate change
• Home to large fossil aquifer systems
• Opportunities for desert ecotourism
MENA Desert Ecosystems
Livelihoods Program
(MENA-DELP)
A Four-Pronged Approach
1. Targeted
Investments
2. Programmatic
Monitoring, Outreach
and Dissemination
• Tunisia - ecotourism and conservation of
desert biodiversity
• Yemen - Arabian leopard
• Algeria - deserts and ecotourism
• And others…
• Create a network of exchanges at the policy,
program and project levels to build the
knowledge base and inform new investments
3. Desert Ecosystem
Assessment and
Knowledge Sharing
• Quantify the economic value of desert
services and the economic cost of desert
degradation
4. Complementary
Programs
• UN Decade for Deserts and Fight Against
Desertification August 2010-August 2020
• MENA Concentrated Solar Power Program
• Jordan UNCC Desert Program
Valuing Desert Ecosystem Services
Opportunity to:
• Identify and measure value
hotspots for the Sahara and
Arabian Deserts
• Including:
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Ecotourism
Oasis agriculture
Wind and solar power
Genetic diversity
Traditional land uses
Water management systems
Grazing
Medicinal and aromatic plants
Dust storm prevention
Agricultural heritage systems
Many others…
A Partnership Approach
• Client Countries
– Leadership Role
• GEF
– Catalytic Funding (US$ 25 million)
• World Bank
– Expanding partnerships, other grant financing, lending and technical
assistance programs
• Other financing partners
• Regional Centers of Excellence
– Including the World Desert Institute and the Prince Sultan Research
Center for Environment, Water and Desert
• Other partners - NGOs, private sector and other
stakeholders