ABSTRACT
The Multilateral Middle East Peace Process called for, among other things, strengthening regional cooperation to control desertification. The World Bank was instrumental in facilitating the process of preparing and implementing the approved program, the Initiative for Collaboration to Control Natural Resource Degradation (Desertification) of Arid Lands in the Middle East, which has been recently shortened to Regional Initiativefor Dryland Management for Phase II of the project, scheduled to continue through 2003. The initiative involves regional cooperation in technology sharing, application of research findings, provision of training, and preparation of pilot investment priorities. The World Bank, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan, the U.S., the Republic of Korea, and Canada provide funding that is complemented by in-kind and financial inputs by the participating countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Tunisia. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is responsible for program execution through a facilitation unit hosted in the ICARDA-Cairo offices.
