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Objectives
 The
main objective of the project is to re-establish the productive capacity
of the Badia rangeland resources. It will develop a replicable participatory
methodology for sustainable natural resource conservation and management,
and implement a programme of physical development covering rangeland rehabilitation
and infrastructure development.
Activities
Project components were to include:
- rangeland development: rehabilitating native plant cover and introducing
management techniques;
- livestock development: breeding, management, health and product processing;
- rural infrastructure: development of water supplies and rural access
roads; and
- community development: establishment of participatory institutions
and programmes specifically designed to improve both literacy levels
and the socio-economic status of women.
Outcome
Soon after start-up, the project area was hit by the worst
drought since 1959. This has had a devastating effect on rangeland vegetation,
significantly increased sheep mortality, seriously affected household
incomes and exposed a large proportion of the Badia population to food
shortages. The herders have suffered a sharp drop in income and are rapidly
liquidating their assets, but they have limited coping strategies such
as alternative employment opportunities. The drought has delayed overall
project implementation.
Access
to inputs and infrastructure
| The quality
of water poses problems for the development of supplies in Badia.
Water from deep, sub-surface aquifers is usually unfit for consumption
because of its high mineral content, including sulphurous compounds
and biological contamination. The only safe water available is
drawn from shallow sub-surface resources, which are highly seasonal
and dry up before the end of the summer.
Road development in Badia has been slow. Most recent
road construction appears to have occurred in relation to oil
development. |
| Planned |
|
Achieved |
Develop rural infrastructure by means of:
-
improved water supplies;
- a rural access road development programme based on a priority
ranking, developed in conjunction with MAAR. This comprises
the upgrading to all-weather rural road specifications of approximately
545 km, equivalent to about 30% of the priority roads identified.
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Construction works
are under way on the headquarters of support units, veterinary
centres, machinery workshops and multi-purpose stores.
Road construction (239 km) contracts are in the
process of being approved.
A contract has been signed for the preparation of
hydro-geophysical studies on 13 well sites.
Rehabilitation of 50 Roman wells in the Governorates
of Homs, Hama and Al-Rakka is under way.
Technical specifications have been prepared and
tenders have been issued for machinery, equipment and means of
transportation. |
Organizations
and people
| No data
are available on educational achievements in the project area.
However, there is evidence of widespread illiteracy among the
Bedouin population, especially women. This is mainly the result
of their semi-nomadic lifestyle; low population density makes
the provision of services, such as education, expensive. |
| Planned |
|
Achieved |
| Encourage community
development, including the establishment of institutional arrangements
for implementing a fully participatory approach and programmes
specifically designed to improve educational levels (literacy)
and the socio-economic status of women. |
|
Eleven seminars
have been organized in various parts of the project area, as
well as six field tours in cooperation with livestock breeders
and three designed specifically for women beneficiaries. Four
internal field tours related to rangelands and livestock production
have also been organized. Three extension workshops on different
subjects related to desertification and the steppes have
been organized. |
Range
management
| A current
major problem relates to the shortage of feed at the end of
the autumn and the onset of winter. During this period of the
year, there is almost no forage output from the rangelands.
The increasing degradation of rangelands owing to a combination
of overuse and inappropriate policies has drastically diminished
the land’s contribution to feeding the sheep flocks and
hence the Bedouins’ well being. The situation has further
deteriorated since the recent total ban on barley cropping in
rangelands.
However, much of the rangeland still has significant
regeneration potential and would respond well to simple technologies
such as resting and reseeding. |
| Planned |
|
Achieved
|
| Develop
the rangeland through rehabilitation of the native plant cover
and introduction of management technologies. Activities should
include reseeding of shrubs, pasture establishment, fodder shrub
planting and short-term rangeland resting. |
|
The
collection of pastoral seeds from preserved areas in various
project locations is continuing. Nine tons of pastoral seeds
(from Al-Rughal and Al-Rawtha) have already been collected.
Lines for an area of 1 500 ha have been opened
and pastoral plantation activities have commenced in these areas.
The Wadi Abyad Dam Centre for the production of
pastoral seeds over an area of 400 ha has been set up and planting
work is being initiated.
Information tours with regard to rangelands have
been undertaken in a number of North-African countries, with
the participation of three employees and four heads of society.
A one-month course on rangelands was held in Morocco with the
participation of ten staff members. Two 21-day courses on management
methods were held in Egypt, with the participation of nine staff
of the project. |
Livestock feed
| Livestock
production is the key to sustainable development in the dry
and semi-arid Badia zones. Mixed livestock/farming systems contribute
to household food security and income generation. The sharp
drop in rangeland productivity has increased reliance on crop
residues, fallow grazing and supplementary feeding. |
| Planned
|
|
Achieved
|
| Improve livestock
productivity per animal unit through improved use of existing
feed resources. |
|
This activity is
ongoing, but no information is yet available. |
Herd improvement
| Limited
productivity per animal unit in the dry and semi-arid zones
is attributed, among other things, to the genetic makeup of
the animals. However, local breeds have adapted to the harsh
ecosystems and severe fluctuations in the dry and semi-dry zones,
and have the potential for improvement. |
| Planned
|
|
Achieved
|
| Apply, through training
and extension, technical packages developed by the Arab Centre
for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), including
improved herd management, feeding and veterinary services.
Improve livestock productivity per animal unit
through the genetic improvement of Awassi sheep.
Distribute 1 500 Awassi rams over a six-year
period.
Train MAAR and sheep owners/herdsmen in techniques
for better use of rams for breeding and selection.
Update the sheep breeding experimental laboratory
at Marj El Karim. |
|
Eight one-week seminars
were organized in cooperation with ACSAD on livestock production
development.
All livestock production staff in the Governorates
attended a three-day workshop on livestock production.
Ten beneficiaries attended a field day on livestock
production.
Technical specifications for the laboratory equipment
at the Al-Karim centre have been prepared and publicized and
laboratory equipment has been provided for the centre.
Technical specifications have been prepared for
eight cheese-processing units. |
Animal health
| Planned |
|
Achieved |
| Build and equip eight
veterinary centres
Rehabilitate 12 existing sheep dipping units in
the project area.
Purchase eight mobile veterinary service units
and eight mobile dipping units. |
|
This activity is ongoing,
but no data are available as yet. |
Lessons learned
Drought contingency plans should be included in the initial
project design.
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| Project information |
Total
project cost: USD 104.9 million, Livestock cost (as percentage
of total): 44%
Beneficiaries: The direct project beneficiaries comprise 16 800 families
(170 000 persons) organized into livestock cooperatives that graze
land controlled by the cooperatives to which they belong. The project
will not seek to exclude the better-off pastoralists as local economic
elites are likely to be leaders in local development and involving them
in the project might be the only way to persuade the target group to participate.
Nevertheless, to the degree possible, the project intends to focus on
the weaker and poorer members of society.
Project area: The project area encompasses approximately 3 million ha (or about 29%
of the total Badia land area) spread over eight provinces. |
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