Consensus on Institutionalizing the Results Achieved in West and East Azerbaijan

The 24th Steering Working Group of the LU restoration project was held on Wednesday, February 26, in the Shahid Kasaei Complex of the Ministry of Agriculture-Jihad of East Azerbaijan Province.

In this meeting, key stakeholders of the project, including representatives of the Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project (CIWP), Agriculture-Jihad Organization, the Provincial Directorates of Department of Environment of East and West Azerbaijan Provinces, the Monitoring Team (Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Centers of East and West Azerbaijan Provinces) and the East Azerbaijan Regional Water Company were present.

At the beginning of the working group, Ebadpour, Director of Agricultural Extension and Coordination office of East Azerbaijan Province, welcomed all stakeholders and spoke about the importance of wetlands and this joint project.

"Continuation of activities related to sustainable agriculture is necessary after finish of the the project, and it directly depends on the support and cooperation between the sectors and the formulation and implementation of an action plan to stabilize the results," he said.

Mehri Asnaashari, the National Project Manager of CIWP, also emphasized on necessity of changing the view of the local communities and other stakeholders, and mentioned the new responsibility of the project partners to help expanding it in the new pilots of Fars and Khuzestan provinces. “There is a need for a joint action plan to sustain project activities.

In this regard, the consensus of various project stakeholders is necessary to identify and plan for the implementation of future actions.” Asnaashari added.

In this meeting, the representatives of the Agriculture-Jihad organization of two provinces of West and East Azerbaijan presented a report on the progress of activities during this year.