Fostering Arid Lands Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation Synergy

This book is the result of a collaborative effort among internationally renowned multidisciplinary scientists who recognize that arid lands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These impacts are expected to significantly affect the productive capacity of arid regions, thereby posing challenges to food security. Furthermore, the contributors acknowledge that under current conditions and the prevailing pace of progress, achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) of ending hunger by 2030 will be highly challenging.

In response to these pressing issues, the editors took the initiative to invite distinguished scientists to contribute manuscripts that compile the latest knowledge on multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral aspects of climate change impacts on food security, with a focus on countries in arid regions. The information presented in this book is intended to benefit a wide range of global stakeholders--including students, farmers, researchers, extension workers, and policymakers--by supporting the development of strategies to mitigate climate change impacts and adopt science-based adaptation practices. These efforts are critical to enhancing the resilience of arid lands and advancing progress toward SDG 2.

The book is organized into five sections covering key topics: natural resources management and governance, agriculture and food security, mitigation and adaptation synergies, poultry and aquaculture, and agricultural pests and soil microbial populations. This comprehensive compilation serves as a unique scientific resource, providing up-to-date information on the global challenges faced by arid lands in the context of climate change, along with strategies for mitigation and adaptation to ensure food security.

Dr. Majda Khalil Suleiman is a Research Scientist at Food Security Program, Environment and Life Sciences Research Center of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. She has over 35 years’ research, development and extension experience in agriculture and urban landscape development and management. She earned her PhD degree in the year 2016 ＂Restoration Ecology＂ from the University of Western Australia. She earned a BSc degree in Botany/Plant Biology from Kuwait University in 1989, and started her career as Botanical Researcher at the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources of Kuwait. She is a Desert Landscaper certified by Desert Botanical Garden Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is the recipient of nine achievement awards from different organizations, including Kuwait University Poster Day (2018-2019), KNPC HSE performance award (2018-2019), five Scientific Achievement Awards graced by KISR (2009-2015), and two Awards of Excellence from Euro-Mediterranean Institute for Sustainable Development in 2014 and 2015. She is member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora. She has led several research projects and was part of the team of many national projects covering wide range of topics, such as restoration of coastline through mangroves plantation, greenery master plan, and urban demonstra­tion garden. She is prolific author/co-author of 120 scientific papers published in interna­tional refereed journals (58), conference proceedings, abstracts, and book chapters (62). In addition, she pub­lished eight books and 137 technical reports. In 2023, she edited a book ＂Terrestrial Environment and Ecosystems of Kuwait＂ which was published by Springer. Currently she is leading a Government Initiative Food Security project and coordinating three projects related to desert rehabilitation through Kuwait Environment Remediation Program (KERP) funded by Kuwait National Focal Point.