Disasters are increasing worldwide, with more devastating effects than ever before. While the absolute number of disasters around the world has almost doubled since the 1980s, the average number of natural disasters in Middle East and North Africa (MNA) has almost tripled over the same period of time. In the MNA, the interplay of natural disasters, rapid urbanization, water scarcity, and climate change has emerged as a serious challenge for policy and planning.

AARINENA was established to strengthen cooperation among national, regional and international agricultural research institutions and centers to ultimately support the agricultural sector in its member countries. Women farmers significantly contribute to the agricultural development in the WANA region, but often remain invisible in agricultural research and knowledge transfer.

This paper is concerned with the multitude of interleaving issues which emerge when engaging multiple stakeholders in decision making.

'AgTech' is the latest discourse about introducing new technologies to agricultural production. Researchers, corporations, and governments around the world are investing heavily in supporting its development. Abu Dhabi, the largest and wealthiest emirate in the UAE, has been among these supporters, recently announcing a massive scheme to support AgTech companies. Given the extreme temperatures and aridity of the Arabian Peninsula, several new start-ups have focused on 'controlled environment' facilities – hydroponics and aeroponics in various kinds of greenhouses.

This publication aims to inform the debate on the status of food security in Arab countries, and provide policy options for enhancing food security in the future, in line with the overarching directions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Given the heterogeneity of the Arab region, both in terms of natural endowment, particularly in water resources, and economic capabilities, the report’s analysis divides the region into four subregions, each consisting of a more homogeneous group of countries.

As a party to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBO), there is a need for Malaysia to implement its commitment to CBO's objectives on conserving biological diversity, sustainable utilisation of natural resources, and fair and equitable benefit sharing deriving from the use of genetic resources. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK9), the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment has allocated a special grant to Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) to establish a database on forest related traditional knowledge of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia.

The devastation caused in Philippines by Typhoon Reming was the trigger for the Government request to FAO for the project “Strengthening Capacities for Climate Risk Management and Disaster Preparedness in Selected Provinces of the Philippines (Bicol Region)”. This technical project summary report provides a consolidated overview about the specific project activities, the implementation processes, main findings and the establishment of institutional mechanisms that were established to promote ongoing collaboration between farmers, agriculture extension workers, researchers and local governme

Participatory communication in development aims to facilitate the integration of interpersonal communication methods with conventional and new media channels, with the focus on encouraging all stakeholders to participate in the process. The growth of internet-based technologies has created new opportunities for facilitating this participation and enhancing the ability of resource-poor communities to access information and support and to share experiences and knowledge.

This is the final report of the fifth regional consultative forum meeting of the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) convened in Hyderabad, India from 19 to 21 June 2014. It was attended by 85 participants from 17 countries and 28 national, regional and inter governmental partner organizations and projects. Forum participants came to the meeting to develop and reach consensus on ways of implementing policies and action plans designed to address the major challenges confronting the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the region.

This Training of Trainers Manual is designed to help build the capacity of trainers in flash flood risk management, who can then disseminate the knowledge to a larger number of practitioners. The manual presents an eight-day course including a three-day field trip. Detailed lesson plans for 21 sessions are followed by resource materials that will enable the trainers to replicate the course in their own work areas.