Mauritania faces significant challenges related to food systems, environmental degradation, and climate change. With 90% of its territory in the Sahara Desert and only 0.5% of arable land, the country is highly vulnerable to climate change effects.
In 2025, employment in agriculture accounted for 32% of total employment. Climate-related pressures compound existing food system challenges. Addressing these interconnected issues calls for greater coherence between climate action and food systems transformation, particularly to strengthen resilience and support vulnerable populations.
While there are many initiatives already in place in the country, further efforts are needed to translate commitments into action, particularly in strengthening institutional coordination, clarifying roles and responsibilities across stakeholders, enhancing technical capacities, and supporting the mobilization of financing for climate and food systems priorities.
On 13 and 14 October, ESCWA, in collaboration with the National Convenor for Food Systems Transformation in Mauritania, and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, organized a national workshop in Nouakchott on "Advancing coherent climate and food systems action in Mauritania".
It brought together government officials from food systems, climate, environment, agriculture, water, and related sectors, alongside development partners and technical experts, to strengthen coordination and promote more integrated action across these interlinked agendas.
The workshop is the first in the Advancing Coherent Climate and Food Systems Action series, organized to support Arab least developed countries in aligning food systems transformation pathways and policies with climate change action.
