United Nations organization launches $16 million project to preserve biodiversity in three counties

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a $16 million project to develop livelihoods, sustainable land management, and preserve biodiversity, in Sokotra, Dhamar and Al-Mahra governorates.

The organization said in a press release issued today, Thursday, that it launched the “Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods for Rural Yemen” initiative in Dhamar Governorate yesterday, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The statement added that the project, with a value of 16 million dollars, targets 160,000 beneficiaries (divided equally between males and females), during seven years, in the areas targeted for the project, which are Socotra and the Hawf reserves in Al -Mahra and Atma in Dhamar.

He pointed out that the project supports the development of sustainable and resilient livelihoods in rural areas by integrating climate change adaptation, sustainable land management and conservation of biodiversity through the productive sectors of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, in the targeted areas.

The representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Yemen, Hussein Jadin, explained that the project “strengthens sustainable, comprehensive, resilient and adaptable to climate change agri-food systems, and the ability of participating families to sustain their livelihoods and produce sufficient, safe and nutritious food in a sustainable way.”

Jadin emphasized that the project is in line with the strategic framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization, and will make cultivation, livestock and fisheries production more productive and sustainable in the targeted areas. It would also enable producers to increase opportunities associated with sustainable animal production. .

According to the FAO, this project aims to reverse some of the negative effects of war and unsustainable land use, because “upon completion, it will place 118,000 hectares of productive land, an additional 100,000 hectares of marine areas, and 45,000 hectares of natural landscapes, under improved management for the benefit of… Biodiversity”.