Arab Environment Watch : Unesco Doha publishes book on plant salinity and biosaline agriculture

By Arvind Nair

Published: Friday, 6 October, 2006

PROLONGED use of saline water severely affects irrigated soils, and that contributes to the global land degradation process with a direct impact on biomass production, says a book published by Unesco Doha.

‘Biosaline Agriculture and Salinity Tolerance in Plants’ is an important scientific contribution towards the management of salt-affected soils, saline irrigation water, and halophytes, Dr Benno Boer, ecological sciences adviser for the Arab region, told Gulf Times.

The book is edited by Munir Ozturk, Yoav Waisel, M Ajmal Khan and Guven Gork while the foreword is written by Dr Boer.

Global demand for water has increased six-fold over the past century, with a three-fold increase in world population. The water crisis is one of the most critical challenges facing the world today, the adviser said.

Seawater is available in abundance, and hypersaline soils are widespread. Based on science, and with carefully established good practices, large areas of saline soils can be converted into high productivity, man-made agro-ecosystems.

"We have to be ready to respond when land becomes non-productive due to high salt concentrations. The availability of correct and adequate scientific knowledge is absolutely essential to develop good biosaline management practices", Dr Boer said.

Unesco has supported a number of such activities, societies and centres, and this is well in tune with the organisation’s focus on water and associated ecosystems, he pointed out.

It is also important to raise public awareness. Some marketable products have already been developed, and provide valuable services to mankind. These include Salicornia bigelovii, Salicornia europaea, Aster tripolium (vetegable and salad), Conocarpus erecta, Conocarpus lanciofilius (roadside trees), and Sesuvium portulacastrum (to replace freshwater dependant ground cover), the Unesco official said.

The Arab states in the Gulf, including Qatar, suffer greatly from a lack of freshwater availability, where saline groundwater and seawater occur in abundance.

It is with this in mind, that the Unesco office in Doha, and in agreement with the Unesco office in Venice, decided to support Arab experts to participate in the International Conference on Biosaline Agriculture and Salinity Tolerance in Plants, in Turkey, as well as "this important publication", the adviser explained.

The book has three sections: the first deals with physiological aspects of salt tolerance. It provides data and new information regarding a number of moderate to high salinity tolerant plants and grass species.

The second section provides information on ecological aspects, such as biological diversity conservation, management of natural plant diversity, geographical inventories of halophyte communities, and vegetation zones.

The third section on agriculture provides information on the utilisation of halophytes, soil irrigation and drainage management, bio-reclamation of saline soils, and effects of salinity on crop productivity, the adviser said.