Soil and Water Conservation for Desertification Control in Iran - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 374

Fig. 18.7 Small dams allow water harvesting and assist in flood mitigation in an upland catchment
of Atrak river

Three ongoing joint UNDP-FRWO projects (MENARID, Carbon Sequestration
and Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources) are aiming at and
are rooted in institutional strengthening, integrated planning and coordination, and
participatory approaches. The current Development Plan is aiming at covering
8 Mha of land by end of the Plan period through implementation of modern
watershed development approaches. UNDP is supporting the process through the
above- mentioned projects.

3.2.1 Past Efforts

The first committee for soil and water conservation was established in 1958 in
collaboration with FAO. This committee decided some measures to stabilize shifting
sand dunes and in 1959 a small scale research project was put into implementation
in an area of 10 ha in Khuzestan province. In 1965 another sand dune fixation project
was carried out in an area of 100 ha in the south part of Khorasan.
Because of successful results obtained from this UNDP-FRWO project, it was
immediately extended to other parts of the country, facing the same problems.
These projects mostly consist of (a) Biological operations; (b) Physico-chemical
activities. Biological includes plantation of seedlings and cuttings, seeding, and en-
forcement of closures. Haloxylon persicum, H.ammodendron, Atriplex lentiformis,