MEDENINE - A co-operation agreement in the area of fight against desertification was signed Friday between the Medenine-based Institute of Dry Regions (IRA) and the Nigerian environment ministry.
The document was signed by IRA Director-General and the Chairman and Managing Director of the Interact Safety System, a Nigerian institution specialised in environment protection and fight against desertification.
This five-year agreement provides for training Nigerian executives in fight against desertification through a set of training sessions of three weeks each. The Nigerian side pays for the training.
It also provides for sending experts of the institute to Nigeria to initiate programmes of fight against desertification.
IRA is a reference institution in this area thanks to the results of researches achieved in matters of fight against desertification, water resources' exploitation, soils' preservation, pastures' rehabilitation and exploitation, cattle breeding and sensitisation to natural resources' protection.
The Institute has already held training sessions for several countries such as Mali, Chad, Sudan, Mauritania, Yemen and Syria.
It has contributed to launching an international master degree on the fight against desertification and natural resources management, in collaboration with the United Nations University, China's Sciences Academy and the Japanese University of Tottori.
© Agence Tunis Afrique Presse 2010
