This meeting aims to adopt a new plan of action to achieve the objectives of the project in the area of degraded land management on both sides of the Senegal River to conserve biodiversity and the fight against poverty within local populations in these areas.

In a word for the occasion, the Secretary General of the Ministry Delegate to the Prime Minister for the Environment, Mr. Moctar Ould Beibeh, said that the objective of the project "Biodiversity Conservation through participatory rehabilitation of degraded lands of the Senegal River Valley" is to "develop and implement participatory systems to rehabilitate and sustainable management of degraded land near the Senegal River, for the preservation of biological diversity and benefits vis-à-vis climate change. "

The strategy of the project, he said, "to ensure better management of natural resources, actively involving all parties concerned in all aspects of diagnosis, planning, implementation, monitoring and the evaluation of activities. "

The project also takes into account compliance with the commitments of both countries who have

ratified the conventions on conservation - on biodiversity, climate change and the fight against desertification.

It also contributes, he noted, to achieve two of the ten Millennium Development Goals, namely the fight against poverty and promoting sustainable development.

"In the context of NEPAD, it is important to underline the exemplary this project under its promotion of integration and sub-regional cooperation in the process of sustainable development," said the secretary general said that that the project "is one of the privileged framework for dialogue and actions strongly supported by Master Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal and His Excellency Sheikh Sidi Mohamed Ould Abdallahi, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania".

Mr. Moctar Ould Beibeh stressed that the implementation of this project since 2001, was effective through financial and technical support of our partners that are the Fund for the Environment Mondial, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Federal Republic Germany, UNDP and UNEP 1'UNOPS He welcomed the convening of this meeting which will, he said, "to review the results of bio-diversity project Mauritania-Senegal and take decisions to consolidate and replicate on a large scale the important achievements of the project. "

The Secretary-General in this regard, the analysis indicated that the results achieved by the project "suggests a good trend in achieving its objectives." He stressed that the momentum is well under way and that the process of ownership by the beneficiary population follows its course.

Speaking in turn, Mr. Demba Ba, adviser to the Senegalese Minister of State for the Environment welcomed the positive response by local people in development programmes initiated by the project at its areas of intervention. This response, he said, has achieved concrete results in various fields, particularly as regards rehabilitation of farmland.

During the meeting, delegates from both countries and partner representatives attended a presentation by Mr. Bocoum Mohamed, regional coordinator of the project biodiversity Mauritania-Senegal on the status of implementation of recommendations, planning and management, among others.

It is noteworthy that the draft biodiversity which is currently at 16 areas on both sides of the Senegal River was established in 2001 with funding from Mauritania, Senegal, UNEP and the GTZ for an amount of $ 12 million.

In Mauritania, the project is operating in the wilayas of Trarza, Brakna, Gorgol and Guidimagha.