This book introduces state-of-the-art approaches, methods and research, focusing on smart management of rainwater. In addition, it provides an overview of projects from across the world, illustrating how rainwater-smart management has been implemented in drylands. Focusing on the scientific perspective it demonstrates how rural dryland agriculture can be improved. It also documents the wealth of rainwater-smart know-how available today, and replicates and transfers results to other countries and regions, to encourage cross-sector interactions among various stakeholders, such as practitioners from governmental and public organisations, policy- and decision-makers, and teaching staff from academic scientific institutions. The contributors showcase vital lessons learned from research, field projects and best-practice examples. They address the integrated use of rainwater harvesting management with landscape restoration practices and water-, and climate-smart agriculture for food security and poverty alleviation in arid and semi-arid areas. Original research, combined with the contributors’ synthetic approach, lays a foundation for new concepts and ideas. Through case studies and research reports, the book discusses all the relevant issues necessary for the comprehensive analysis and successful implementation of the technologies in rainwater management. Highlighting the working principles and technical recommendations with regard to cost-efficient rainwater-smart solutions, it is of interest to practitioners. It is also a valuable resource for academic specialists, professionals and students, since many development agencies are funding rainwater harvesting for irrigation purposes.

The Arab region needs a new generation of policies and investments in agricultural water. Agricultural water management has always posed challenges and opportunities in the Arab world. However, unprecedented and accelerating drivers such as climate change, population growth, and land degradation make agricultural water management a more urgent priority than ever before. In addition, as part of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, Arab countries have committed to work towards an ambitious set of development targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless the right policies and investments are put in place, it will be difficult to achieve the SDGs, including ending hunger and providing clean water and sanitation for all. This paper is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute to foster dialogue on agricultural water policies and investments in the context of the FAO led Regional Water Scarcity initiative. The purpose of the paper is to frame the key challenges and opportunities in the sector – including emerging innovations in digital agriculture, water accounting, water supply and wastewater reuse – and to lay out broad strategic directions for action.

Food Science and Technology: Fundamentals and Innovation presents the aspects of microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, and process engineering required for the successful selection, preservation, processing, packaging, and distribution of quality food. It is a valuable resource for researchers and students in food science & technology and food industry professionals and entrepreneurs. There are two new chapters in the 2nd Ed. COVID-19 and food supply chain as well as climate-smart food science.

This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

Mitigating the Risks of a 21st Century Climate Switch (to global cooling) and Running Out of Oil and Gas: There is an urgent need to prepare the world for a 21st century climate switch to a cooling phase, and this current grand solar minimum is a prime time for that switch. The world will face natural climate change-related risks during the current grand solar minimum—risks dismissed or ignored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) because of its constraining Articles 1 and 2. Solar scientists expert in climate change are warning us of a 21st century global cooling, but the IPCC process has dismissed their science and that of other climate sub-disciplines. Climate-forcing volcanism, Arctic glacier expansion, rapid climate change, and the climate- and volcanic-related catastrophes that occurred during the Little Ice Age are risks that were also dismissed by the IPCC process. Earth actually entered a new Ice Age 8 and 10.5 millennia ago, in the Arctic and the Antarctic respectively. Since the Holocene Climate Optimum 8,000 years ago, Greenland’s temperature declined by 4.90C to its lowest trough in 1700. The subsequent 1700-2016 trough-to-peak temperature rise is the largest temperature increase in 8,000 years. Glacier ice accumulation also started 5,000 years ago, reaching its peak during the Little Ice Age. However, since the mid-19th century much of this glacier ice melted as the sun entered an extreme grand solar maximum phase, which human activity has exacerbated. Section 3 of this book provides best-practice strategies for implementing decentralized sustainable development and switching the world’s energy system to renewable energy. These strategies will be required to mitigate the yet unseen climate and resource supply-related risks that loom on the horizon. This book is pitched at the levels of central governments, local governments, and for you at home, and is a must if you want to know the data-driven facts about natural climate change.

Engineering plays a major role in solving real-world problems, from small inconveniences to societal or global concerns around food scarcity, water shortages, environmental damage, problems in housing or infrastructure and more. In today's rapidly evolving world, the development of the latest generation of engineering and technology is crucial for maintaining productivity, innovation, and improving our overall quality of life. Intelligent Engineering Applications and Applied Sciences for Sustainability is an essential research book that serves as a compilation of cutting-edge research and advancements in engineering, science, and technology, and more importantly, how the application of these advancements will guide the path to a more sustainable future. This book focuses on intelligent engineering applications, which encompass the design and implementation of embedded technologies in various domains. It covers a wide range of fields and their influence on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fostering interdisciplinary approaches and innovative solutions, including additive manufacturing technologies, aerospace science and engineering, agricultural advancements, computer science for sustainable development, applied biosciences, applied mathematics, industrial engineering, robotics and automation, transportation, future mobility, and much more. As an academic, rigorous exploration of various disciplines, this book serves as an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars, and professionals seeking to advance the frontiers of intelligent engineering applications and applied sciences for a sustainable future.

The workshop “Promoting Water Tenure for Food Security, Climate Resilience, and Equity” was implemented by FAO and adelphi on 18 and 29 June in Berlin, Germany, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), and the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). [Author] This report presents its main findings. [Author] The objectives of the workshop were to increase knowledge and awareness about the role that water tenure plays in managing water resources and in its impacts on people’s food security and livelihoods. [Author] The workshop focused on three topics: 1) Water tenure and food security; 2) Water tenure and social inclusion; 3) Water tenure to increase climate resilience and mitigate conflicts. [Author]

Feeding the world's growing human population is increasingly challenging, especially as more people adopt a western diet and lifestyle. Doing so without causing damage to nature poses an even greater challenge. This book argues that in order to create a sustainable food supply whilst conserving nature, agriculture and nature must be reconnected and approached together. The authors demonstrate that while the links between nature and food production have, to some extent, already been recognized, until now the focus has been to protect one from the impacts of the other. Instead, it is argued that nature and agriculture can, and should, work together and ultimately benefit from one another. Chapters describe efforts to protect nature through globally connected protected area systems and illustrate how farming methods are being shaped to protect nature within agricultural systems. The authors also point to many ways in which nature benefits agriculture through the ecosystem services it provides. Overall, the book shows that nature conservation and food production must be considered as equally important components of future solutions to meet the global demand for food in a manner that is sustainable for both the human population and the planet as a whole.