FAO To Organize ALAWUC 7th Session

Tehran, May 7, IRNA - The FAO Regional Office for the Near East in Cairo will organize the Seventh Session of the Agriculture and Land and Water Use Commission for the Near East (ALAWUC) on May 8-9, 2012 in Cairo. Members of the Commission are 23, including: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Monday. The Commission, established as a merger of two previous Regional Commissions (the Regional Commission on Agriculture and the Regional Land and Water Use Commission), aims at providing a forum for member states to exchanging and promoting information and experience of joint programs at regional and sub-regional levels. In addition, the commission assists FAO and other potential donors in identifying issues, problems and future work programs in the region to overcome problems related to: · Land & water resources inventories for their sustainable utilization and management, · Land use planning, · Maintaining and updating regional databases on natural resources in the Region; · Promotion of programmes for food production, plant protection, animal health and livestock production, · Development of agricultural research systems, and identification of efficient agricultural services to farmers. The meeting of ALAWUC this year is a special event as it reviews and endorses the proposed draft statutes of this commission prepared by FAO Legal Department (LEGA) unlike previous meetings focusing on technical matters. The draft statutes include as well the financing mechanism and contribution in addition to the election of the Commission Bureau members. In addition, the commission will review the work and achievements during the previous period. The meeting will also identify outstanding topics and issues related to the agriculture and land and water use for discussion at the next 8th session./end