ICARDA annual report 2004

than 10,000 accessions in 35 incoming
shipments from 24 countries.
Various Tilletia pathogens were
found in wheat seed from
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkey.
More than 2% of the wheat accessions
from Afghanistan were infected
with Seed Gall Nematode.
Researchers inspected 140
hectares to remove plants infected
with seed-borne disease from
germplasm intended for international
distribution. The most frequent
diseases recorded in cereal
fields were common bunt, barley
stripe, and loose smut. Flag smut,
net blotch, and barley stripe mosaic
virus were also found. Ascochyta
blight, Botrytis spp., Sclerotium root
rot, and viruses were found in
legume crops. Twelve hectares of
post-quarantine fields were also
inspected, but no quarantine
pathogens were found.
National staff in Afghanistan
were trained in seed health, production,
and enterprise management.
An on-farm seed production
and post-harvest technology workshop
was held in Jordan. Seed
health staff from Iraq were trained
at ICARDA’s headquarters in Syria
and capacity-building activities
were undertaken at plant health
and quarantine laboratories in
UAE. Training in various aspects of
seed health was also given to one
Masters student from Iraq and
three individuals from Syria and
Afghanistan.
Community-based agrobiodiversity
conservation
in West Asia
In 2004, the GEF/UNDP-funded
West Asia Dryland
Agrobiodiversity Project continued
its work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria,
and the Palestinian Authority.
Activities focused on the large-scale
demonstration of new technologies,
empowering local communities,
and strengthening their involvement.
Project exit strategies such as
launching community development
plans, characterizing livelihood
strategies, and developing natural
habitat management plans were
also developed.
To date, the project has distributed
35 tonnes of cereal and
legume seed in Palestine and planted
more than 41,000 fruit trees in
Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Outscaling
has also resulted in large
areas being planted with native
fruit trees: 1.8 million ha in Syria,
180,000 ha in Jordan, and 20,000 ha
in both Lebanon and Palestine. In
2004, 60 hectares were reforested
with native species and rangeland
management was implemented on
a further 191 hectares.
The project has also brought
about institutional change. Jordan,
Lebanon, and Syria have now
signed the International Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources and
Lebanon has agreed to use wild
fruit trees in afforestation efforts.
Agrobiodiversity conservation is
being taught to tenth-grade schoolchildren
in Syria and Masters
degrees in natural habitat management
and biodiversity conservation
Theme 3
The Dryland
Agrobiodiversity
Project reintroduces
landraces
of crops
through a
program of
seed multiplication
and distribution.
have been developed at the Faculty
of Science Technology at Al-Qods
University, Jordan. The project’s
Regional Coordinator provided lectures
on conservation as part of the
University of Jordan’s genetic
resources course and project staff
are being hired by local agrobiodiversity
units in Syria and Palestine.
In 2004, the project conducted
eco-geographical and botanical surveys
to assess agrobiodiversity and
identify causes of degradation. In
Palestine, soil maps of project sites
were developed using GIS and
remote sensing. Socioeconomic surveys
were also devised to study
households, livelihood strategies,
and community-development
plans. Management plans for
selected natural habitats are being
drafted by each component.
Regular meetings were held by
each project component to evaluate
the project and monitor its impact.
A team from DFID also reviewed
the activities of ICARDA’s Genetic
Resources Unit, visited project
sites in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria,
and attended the fifth Regional
Technical and Planning Meeting
held in Lebanon. GEF/UNDP also
reviewed the project, conducting a
desk-based evaluation and
meeting with the regional,
Jordanian, and Lebanese project
ICARDA Annual Report 2004
49