As World leaders forged two new big deals in late 2015 – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Change Agreements – over 200 experts and technical officers working in fields related to land and water management, participated in the 3rd Land and Water Days held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, from 10 to 12 November 2015

Video is animated infographic describing rangelands of Central Asia, their conditions, issues, degradation factors. The video also demonstrates ways of sustainable management.

The Central Asian countries are particularly affected by the global climate change. The cultural and economic centers in this mostly arid region have to rely solely on the water resources provided by the rapidly melting glaciers in the Pamir, Tien-Shan and Alay mountains. By 2030, the available water resources will be 30 % lower than today while the water demand will increase by 30 %.

Water scarcity driven by climate change, growing demand, and inefficient management of water and related infrastructure is a serious threat to livelihoods in the Aral Sea Basin (ASB) of Central Asia. In recent decades, downstream water shortages have become increasingly common and inflows into the Aral Sea have become very limited.

Ongoing discussions on water-energy-food nexus generally lack a historical perspective and more rigorous institutional analysis. Scrutinizing a relatively mature benefit sharing approach in the context of transboundary water management, the study shows how such analysis can be implemented to facilitate understanding in an environment of high institutional and resource complexity.

This issue of Caravan showcases some of ICARDA’s efforts of coping with climate change in dry areas with improved water land management and resilient production systems. These include initiatives in conservation agriculture which provide sustained production levels while conserving the ecosystems on which our entire food system is dependent upon.

Tajikistan’s economy exceeded
expectations during the first six months of 2015 despite a
challenging external environment. According to official
data, GDP growth slowed only moderately from 6.7 percent in
the first half of 2014 to 6.4 percent year on year (y/y) in

Animated demonstration of practical experience from a farmer perspective to establish pistachio farm in south of Kyrgyzstan. The script for the video was developed by the farmer himself leading step by step through his experience to learn about pistachio and experience of establishing pistachio farm on rangelands previously used for grazing.

Electronic files of all major publications produced by FAO Forestry and the FO decentralized forestry units plus selected key publications from the same period produced by the FAO technical departments. The publication catalogue/CD-ROM/USB will be used to support knowledge sharing in forestry fields, commencing with the XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, in September 2015.

In this issue: the meeting in Antalya laid the foundation for the implementation of the ELD Initiative in Central Asia. The ELD CA Initiative held a working meeting in Ashgabat. Communication issues have been identified. A working meeting of the group of Tajik specialists. ELD CA paths of cooperation are being determined. A 6-step approach to issues of the Economics of Land Degradation.