The world is in the grip of pressing natural threats that may constitute a turning point in its history. Desertification is one such key challenge that is looming over the entire planet, and especially the Arab region, and that requires prompt and common action to reverse its effects or stop its course.
 

     Beirut, 13 December 2017 (Communication and Information Unit) –ESCWA Deputy Executive Secretary Khawla Mattar today said, “The ESCWA studies should now be followed up on the ground especially that in the last few years conflicts have been mounting in the region. We are not only afraid of what is happening today but also of what would happen tomorrow because of the economic and social roots of conflicts.”
 

Beirut, 02 October 2018 (Communication and Information Unit) – Improving the quality of data on persons with disabilities was the focus of a recent meeting in Cairo, Egypt, attended by thirteen countries of the Arab region (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen) as well as international experts and representatives of UN agencies, civil society and Disabled People’s Organizations.
 

Within the framework of the “Regional Initiative for Promoting Small-Scale Renewable Energy Applications in Rural Areas of the Arab Region (REGEND)” project, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in partnership with the General Commission for Regional Development (CGDR) and the National Agency for Energy Conservation (ANME) in Tunisia, is organizing a capacity-building workshop on “Improving the yield and quality of fruit tree plantings and adopting water-saving irrigation techniques and renewable energy technologies for pumping, irrigation, and water desalination”.
 
This workshop aims to build/enhance the knowledge and the practical capacities of a group of peasants in the region of Chorbane (Governorate of Mahdia, Republic of Tunisia), with regard to improving the yield and quality of fruit tree plantings through the adoption of the best agricultural practices that are compatible with what the region is facing as a result of climate change like water scarcity, by rationalizing the use of the available water resources through using water irrigation saving techniques and renewable energy techniques to desalinate highly saline groundwater and to pump irrigation water. The workshop will provide the participants with theoretical knowledge and practical experience with regards to Water-Energy-Food Nexus, by adopting modern methods of training that integrate theoretical and practical dimensions together through the field school technology.