This conference is held under the auspices of the Heir Apparent, His Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thaniin, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) of Qatar Foundation, among other partners. The conference will bring together a broad range of stakeholders and will focus on three thematic areas, namely food security, water resources, and responsible investment. The conference will include a Ministerial Dialogue on Dry Lands Agriculture under a Changing Climate, which will focus on two themes: the energy-water-food nexus; and financing dry land agriculture and food production. The conference is expected to yield an outcome document with distilled summary recommendations that represent the consensus of the participants on future courses of action required under all thematic areas examined by the conference. The outcome document aims to lead to the adoption of the Doha Declaration that would clearly set a target percentage and date for the allocation of a significant proportion of the national public expenditure for programmes and projects to achieve food security on an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable basis. The outcome document will also present the main thrusts of an Action Plan to follow-up on agreed recommendations and commitments.  

dates: 14-15 November 2012   location: Doha, Qatar   contact: Ambassador Bader Al Dafa   phone: +974 4438 8632   e-mail: info@fsdl.qa   www: http://www.fsdl.qa/en-us/home.aspx