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UMA:

Mustapha Tlili described the characteristics of the Arab Maghreb and highlighted a number of UMA programmes currently underway, including fixing dunes by planting trees, conducting campaigns to prevent landslides, and improving rangelands through seeding. The methodology used to implement these projects includes: incorporating the participation of the grassroots and the army; consolidating legislation to protect the environment; and developing programs to protect threatened areas. He stressed the need for regional cooperation and added that the Maghreb must realize its interdependence with Europe and the two regions must work together to combat desertification.

Kallala Abdessalem of the Tunisian Ministry of the Environment and Land Management highlighted characteristics of desertification in Tunisia. He mentioned that projects must be cost-effective or else they will not be acceptable to peasants. He said that desertification is an economic problem and there is a need to involve the people, including women, in combatting desertification. He concluded by pointing out that desertification should be seen as something to bring the North and South together.