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Greening initiatives in the Middle East can leverage urban infrastructure to enhance sustainable water use

Large-scale afforestation is championed as a way to restore degraded habitats, conserve biodiversity and advance societal improvements. In the Middle East, a severely water-stressed region, we argue that urban greening will need to play a major part in efforts to deliver a more sustainable and water-sensitive strategy, while also enhancing urban liveability.

Over the past decade or more, protecting and restoring natural capital for interlinked social, economic and environmental benefits has been a key message from numerous intergovernmental forums (such as G20 and COP). As part of that effort, the United Nations Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats was launched in 2020. One of its implementation strategies highlighted the restoration of degraded lands through sustainable reforestation or afforestation across many terrestrial ecosystems1. However, the term ‘water’ appeared only three times throughout that plan, severely understating the critical role that water plays in fulfilling restoration objectives.

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Acknowledgements

This commentary is funded by KAUST WDRC CCF funding FCC/1/1971-44-01 (awarded to all authors). The authors thank X. Pita and the KAUST Research Communication team for the graphic illustration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science and Engineering Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Pei-Ying Hong, Himanshu Mishra & Matthew F. McCabe

  2. Water Desalination and Reuse Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Pei-Ying Hong & Himanshu Mishra

  3. Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Himanshu Mishra

  4. Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Daniele Daffonchio

  5. Climate and Livability Initiative, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Matthew F. McCabe

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  1. Pei-Ying Hong
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Pei-Ying Hong.

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Hong, PY., Mishra, H., Daffonchio, D. et al. Greening initiatives in the Middle East can leverage urban infrastructure to enhance sustainable water use.
Nat Water (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00171-9

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  • Published: 30 November 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00171-9

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