The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development holds a regional dialogue on climate change

The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), in collaboration with the League of Arab States and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research/International Centre for Agricultural Research in Arid Zones, held a high-level regional dialogue on the evening of Monday, 4 December 2023, on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The event was entitled “Addressing the interrelated challenges of climate change, peace and food security in the Arab region with a focus on fragile societies and countries in conflict”.

The importance of this issue comes against the backdrop of the grave challenges facing the Arab region related to climate change and peace and security. The Arab region is under considerable pressure because of the high levels of conflict and is home to the largest number of refugees and displaced persons in the world. It is also the region with the scarcest water and most dependent on food imports globally, with high malnutrition rates in the region.

Land and water mismanagement has also led to already limited ecosystem services declining and climate change impacts such as desertification exacerbate the challenge of managing limited natural resources, increasing the vulnerability of local populations, requiring multifaceted responses to these issues through comprehensive solutions based on integrating security, development and climate adaptation strategies.

The event was organized on the basis of previous cooperation between the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, where the two sides co-organized an African Arab session under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land RecRecRelamation, which was attended by Arab and African Ministers Ministers and supported by UNC.

The meeting concluded with a declaration recommending interregional and interregional cooperation between the Arab and African regions to raise climate ambitions through a balanced approach between adaptation and mitigation solutions in the agriculture, food and water sectors and to utilize science and innovation as an entry point for water and food security.

At this event, following a welcome speech by Dr. Mahmoud Fathalla, Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs of the League of Arab States, H.E. Professor Ibrahim Adam Al-Dakhiri, Director General of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, delivered a keynote address in which he presented the importance of addressing the interrelated challenges of climate change, peace and food security in the Arab region.

This was followed by an interactive session moderated by Eng. Ali Abu Sheva, Regional Director for Central and West Asia and North Africa of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and Director-General of ICARD. Dr. Mohammed Jassim Al-Falahi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Environment of Iraq, on behalf of Mr. Naz. Regional Director for the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia/International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Asmahan Alafi, Managing Executive Director, CGIAR.

During this dialogue, new visions of climate solutions were presented in crisis-affected environments through several themes that included measures and policy tools that could be operationalized to address the interrelationships between climate, peace and security community participation and the importance of its adoption in decision-making and resource management to achieve more sustainable outcomes for peace and security and to strengthen the institutional framework and governance mechanisms for the equitable and sustainable management of natural resources; Reduce conflict risks and improve local capacity to respond to climate challenges, while developing investments in research to better understand the linkages between climate change and peace and security.

At the end of the event, participants stressed the need for cooperation between government agencies, policymakers, research agencies and all actors in order to address the interrelated challenges of climate change, peace and food security in the Arab region, with a focus on fragile societies and countries in conflict.