Oil and Water: How can Arabs turn energy into food? 3/12/2014 Dr. Waleed K. Al-Zubari

Addressing water scarcity, both natural and human-induced, in the Arab region is considered one of the major and most critical challenges facing the Arab countries. ...more

Million Tree Campaign for Palestinian Farmers 10/11/2014 Mariam Al Jaajaa

The Million Tree Campaign (MTC) is a grassroots movement for food security designed to bolster Palestinian farmers’ ties to their land through large scale tree planting. The campaign is a program of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), a non-profit organization established in 2003 to strengthen the capacity of the Arab peoples to sustain the region's natural resources and to gain sovereignty over them ...more

Enhancing Marginal Land Productivity in the Badia of Jordan 10/11/2014 Odeh Al-Meshan

The Badia is part of the Arab regions (defined as the semi-arid region of Jordan) and constitutes a significant part of Jordan and includes vast hyper-arid areas. As a result, the Badia has been defined based on aridity indices and is classified as a land for communal pastoral use (rangeland). It is situated in the eastern part of Jordan and is considered a home of the Bedu. ...more

Urban Agriculture in the Arab Region 10/11/2014 Salwa Tohmé Tawk and Shadi K. Hamadeh

The role of agriculture in urban areas is gaining recognition across the globe as a response to increasing urban poverty, food insecurity and scarcity of natural resources. The average world population living in urban areas is estimated to be 51 percent and the number of urban poor is quickly growing. ...more

The Green Morocco Plan: An Innovative Strategy of Agricultural Development 10/11/2014 Mohamed Badraoui

In Morocco, agriculture is a strategic sector, economically and socially. It plays major roles in terms of food security and nutrition, supply for agro-industry, employment, integration into the international markets, stabilization of populations in rural areas, and sustainable development. ...more

Improving socio-economic status of the youth for enhanced household food security: Islamic Development Bank Initiative 11/10/2014 Nur Abdi

The recent economic growth in the MENA Region has not created the required number of jobs to absorb the growing labor force and unemployment, especially among the youth – a critical challenge the MENA region is faced with. ...more

Scooter pollution 2/9/2014 Imad El Haddad

Despite making up only a small proportion of traffic in many cities, scooters are responsible for a major part of air pollution, according to a new study by researchers from across Europe ...more

Edible Oil: Food Security in the Gulf 2/9/2014 Rob Bailey

For governments in the region, the most beguiling food security objective is that of self-sufficiency. However it remains elusive, as the Gulf countries’ long but inefficacious history of agricultural support demonstrates. ...more

Singapore, a city in a garden 2/9/2014 Meryl Haddad

Stepping into Singapore for the first time, you will encounter a sweltering wall of heat and humidity. Only fair, as this tiny island state is a lush, tropical city brimming with greenery. ...more

Counting the costs of energy, water and food consumption in the Gulf 30/4/2014 Glada Lahn

he Gulf region is a test case for one of the most serious questions of our time; how can we turn around damaging models of resource use when they are so ingrained in our economies and societies? The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are often painted as a miracle made possible by oil wealth: grand designs and profligate consumers in land scarce in fertile soil and rainfall. But the urban sprawl, leisure developments and industrial complexes that have sprung up in the last 40 years are devouring the resources below ground at an increasing rate. ...more