The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) organised on 28 June 2010 a five-day training workshop aimed at the focal points of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). The session focussed on the convention’s performance review and assessment of implementation system (PRAIS).

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Donald Kaberuka, has approved a €1,228,000 grant released by the African Water Facility (AWF/AfDB) to finance the Sahara and Sahel Observatory’s (OSS) project entitled “Integrated and concerted management of the water resources of the Iullemeden Aquifer System, the Taoudeni/Tanezrouft Aquifer System and the Niger River (GICRESAIT).

As of 1st July 2010, the working hours of the OSS Executive Secretariat are as follows:
Monday to Friday : 7h30 -13h30 (Tunisia time)
These opening hours will be maintained through the month of Ramadan till mid-September 2010. We will keep you informed of any changes in due course.

On 1^st June 2010, Mr Djamel Latrech was appointed by Algeria as Coordinator of the Consultation Mechanism of the North-Western Sahara Aquifer System (SASS). Mr Latrech is a senior groundwater expert who worked at the Algerian water resources agency (ANRH) for 24 years before joining the OSS, in 1999, to coordinate the SASS project.

The 13^th edition of the Climate Outlook Forum, held on 27-28 May in Niamey (Niger), has culminated in the seasonal forecast of precipitation for West Africa, Chad and Cameroun. The convened experts agreed upon a high-probability rainfall scenario for the third quarter (July-September) of 2010. ACMAD’s seasonal forecast bulletin points to significant rainfall with a high probability for rainfall excess in the Western part of the Sahel.

On behalf of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory I would like to pay tribute to our member countries in North Africa and the Sahel as they pursue their relentless endeavour to tackle   desertification and land degradation. Today, as the momentous issue of desertification comes under the international community’s spotlight, OSS reaffirms its resolve to underpin the action of its members and partners for the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

L’Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS) a obtenu un don en euros de la Banque africaine de développement (agissant en qualité d’Administrateur du Fonds Spécial de la Facilité africaine de l’eau) pour financer le projet GICRESAIT « Gestion intégrée des ressources en eau des systèmes aquifères d’Iullemeden, de Taoudéni /Tanezrouft et du fleuve Niger (Algérie, Bénin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, et Nigeria) ».

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has paid tribute to Rwanda’s policies in the field of environment and sustainable development by choosing the East African country to host World Environment Day, which is celebrated on 5 June each year.  This year’s theme-- Many species, One Planet, One Future.