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GCC meeting in Muscat discusses food security, climate change
Food security and climate change were among a raft of issues on the agenda of the 20th GCC Agricultural Cooperation Committee meeting held in Muscat on Saturday.
- Staff Report
- Published: 13:25 June 21, 2009
Muscat: Food security and climate change were among a raft of issues on the agenda of the 20th GCC Agricultural Cooperation Committee meeting held in Muscat on Saturday.
Securing the long-term food and water needs of the Gulf region is a major concern for GCC leaders who agreed to accord top priority to this issue at their summit in Muscat last December. Saturday's meeting was aimed at imparting new impetus to the GCC's goal of addressing this issue collectively.
Opening the meeting, Oman's Agriculture Minister Shaikh Salim Bin Hilal Al Khalili stressed the need for collaborative action in addressing the challenges posed by food supply and security, drought and desertification linked to climate change, and scarce water resources.
Mohammad Bin Obaid Al Mazrouie, the GCC's Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs, highlighted the close link between food and water security, warning that burgeoning consumption and other environmental factors were depleting groundwater reserves. In this regard, he drew attention to a call by the GCC leaders espousing desalination as a source of water supply, while conserving groundwater as a strategic reserve.
Turning to other matters, the meeting approved new executive bylaws linked to existing legislation on insecticides and fertiliser, and soil enhancement. Members also discussed proposals to strengthen agricultural and veterinary quarantine procedures, new bylaws related to veterinary medicine and pharmaceutical products, and animal protection laws. Also on the agenda for discussion was a proposal for establishing an early warning system covering potential outbreaks of infectious animal diseases in the Gulf states.
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