The Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture announces the establishment of the International Authority for the Sustainable Development of Oases in cooperation with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The announcement comes during the ministerial conference of the date-producing countries that took place last February in Abu Dhabi.

An authority in cooperation with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and the agriculture ministries of date-producing countries.

According to Dr. Abdelouahab Zaid, Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, the award started working to realize this initiative three years ago as a regional cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture in the Kingdom of Morocco and date-producing countries agricultural ministries, in addition to relevant regional and international organizations.

The initiative was presented during the activities of the Climate Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow 2021, the Climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh 2023, and the Climate Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai 2023.

Mr. Zaid stated that the authority is an independent international body that will work to support an oasis system that is based on date palm oasis. For him, the aim is to support and activate sustainable development in oasis systems and include them at the heart of relevant regional and international agreements.

Oasis authority goals

The authority is an independent international body to support oasis systems in countries that contain date palm oases that are exposed to the effects of climate change.

The authority aims to achieve the following goals:

  • Preserving the agricultural heritage, the genetic bank of biodiversity, and the cultural heritage of the oases;
  • Empowering the oasis community in its keenness to preserve the biodiversity of the oases and enhance its food security to confront climate change;
  • Preserving the tangible and intangible heritage of the oases to face climate change;
  • Helping the targeted oases in date-producing countries obtain the GIAHS certificate from the FAO, which is a certificate granted to the oasis as an agricultural heritage system of global importance.

Oasis ecosystems and food security

Oasis ecosystems have a rich genetic diversity of date palm trees. It includes a hundred species of plants, crops, and other organisms. The genetic diversity of date palms has been an essential factor in the success of their cultivation. Adapted palm species have been created locally to resist extreme heat, drought, and salinity. Therefore, the policies of preservation of oasis ecosystems have a great impact on preserving local irrigation systems, biodiversity, and the environmental services that exist in the oasis.

The UAE's Minister for Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al-Dahhak, highlighted the great efforts that have been made at various levels during the past years towards date palm oases. For the minister, the aim is that the authority’s initiative will work to empower the Oasis residents to face the challenges of climate change, which is now a global threat, as no specific country is immune from climate change repercussions around the world.

UAE’s Minister for Climate Change and Environment stressed the importance of oases in enhancing food security, especially that they come at an ideal time after the end of COP28, which was the most comprehensive conference of the parties. The minister has highlighted the issue of the spread of modern climate-smart agricultural technology in the world, which has great success in developing oasis ecosystems.

The UAE has spared no effort in bringing the world together around the “UAE COP28 Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action,” which was signed by 159 countries. especially that the issue of food security and its connection to climate change has become a driver of global climate action and a goal to contribute to eliminating hunger in the world.

Oasis and the effects of drought

The strategic importance represented by most oasis systems suffers from various constraints such as isolation, salinity, genetic drift of plant and animal species, and severe drought that leads to desertification.

There is also a decline in vegetation cover, including the date palm, which adapts well to the climatic conditions of the oases and faces many challenges. Therefore, it has become necessary to give priority to intensifying efforts aimed at finding preventive measures and solutions, which will enable oases to adapt to the challenges they face and overcome the constraints that limit their sustainability.

The Kingdom of Morocco, believing in the joint efforts required by oasis regions among all countries concerned, presented the Sustainable Oases Initiative during the COP22 activities held in the Kingdom of Morocco in the city of Marrakesh in November 2016.

The oasis is considered an authentic agricultural ecosystem; men and women patiently developed it over thousands of years in arid lands, where palm oases in the Middle East and North Africa region play a role.

The genetic diversity of date palms has been an essential factor in the success of their cultivation, as it has created locally adapted palm species that are resistant to extreme heat, drought, and salinity.

The dynamic preservation of oasis ecosystems plays an important role in preserving local irrigation systems, biodiversity, and the various environmental services provided by oases. Hence the importance of establishing the “International Commission for the Sustainable Development of Oases” with the aim of empowering Oases residents to face challenges, especially climate change, and achieve sustainable development.