Articles
WATER AND IRRIGATION ON THE MEDITERRANEANS’ SOUTHERN RIM: A VITAL FACTOR FOR ITS PEOPLE AND HORTICULTURE
Article number
582_3
Pages
53 – 65
Language
English
Abstract
As the global debate on climate changes and their more or less drastic effects
continues unabated, the hot and dry regions of the worlds South like those of the
Mediterraneans southern rim are today threatened by increasing desertification,
dwindling water supplies and marked soil erosion.
These phenomena can only
aggravate the gap in wealth and well-being such dryland economies suffer with
respect to more advanced and advantaged areas.
Water is one of the fundamental
factors needed for agricultural development in general and quality horticultural
produce in particular, not to mention sustainable overall economic development.
Water is an issue that involves not simply new sources of supply, such as waste water
recycling and desalinization, but also advances in such water-saving irrigation
techniques as fertigation, drip and other micro-systems that are closely calibrated to
individual crops.
These goals and further advances needed to address such vital
issues cannot be achieved without the input of research, which among other merits
has even shown how moderately saline water can be used to enhance the quality of
certain kinds of produce.
Nor can the worlds North afford to remain aloof from
these problems, for it can do much to help through cooperation in research, in
developing new technologies, and in securing investments to bridge the gap and even
reap benefits from new trade partners.
continues unabated, the hot and dry regions of the worlds South like those of the
Mediterraneans southern rim are today threatened by increasing desertification,
dwindling water supplies and marked soil erosion.
These phenomena can only
aggravate the gap in wealth and well-being such dryland economies suffer with
respect to more advanced and advantaged areas.
Water is one of the fundamental
factors needed for agricultural development in general and quality horticultural
produce in particular, not to mention sustainable overall economic development.
Water is an issue that involves not simply new sources of supply, such as waste water
recycling and desalinization, but also advances in such water-saving irrigation
techniques as fertigation, drip and other micro-systems that are closely calibrated to
individual crops.
These goals and further advances needed to address such vital
issues cannot be achieved without the input of research, which among other merits
has even shown how moderately saline water can be used to enhance the quality of
certain kinds of produce.
Nor can the worlds North afford to remain aloof from
these problems, for it can do much to help through cooperation in research, in
developing new technologies, and in securing investments to bridge the gap and even
reap benefits from new trade partners.
Authors
S. Sansavini
Keywords
Sustainable horticulture, water resources, recycling, salinity, irrigation
Online Articles (18)