Texas A&M experts share desert technologies at Tunisian conference

Texas

Experts from the Texas A&M System were among 160 international participants sharing information on how science and technology can benefit the lives of desert dwellers during the 9th International Conference on Desert Technologies.

The conference was held Nov. 13 to 16 in Tunisia.

Participants also included representatives from Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Japan, Libya, Namibia, Sudan, and the U.K., conference organizers said.

The conference, the theme of which was "Learning from the Desert: From Constraint to an Asset," focused on the positive aspects of arid and desert regions and technologies to help develop desert agriculture, stretch natural resource and produce energy.

Conference officials said water shortage, unstable and fragile soils and adverse climatic conditions are the main causes of desertification and must be addressed to increase productivity on arid and desert lands.

"We addressed issues beyond agriculture and food, including the use of solar and wind power and biotechnology," said Dr. Bill Payne, assistant director for research at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M in College Station.

Payne said the importance of the conference to Tunisia was validated by the attention and hospitality extended to attendees by the governor of Kebili province, the mayor of Douz, the conference's host city, Tunisia's ministers of tourism and defense, and other government officials.

Payne, a research scientist and professor of crop physiology, spoke about agricultural plant stress in a desert climate, including heat, drought and salinity, during the conference.

"Not only in the desert, but in all areas of the world, we will have less and less fresh water for agriculture due to increased urban demand, recurrent drought, climate change, aquifer depletion and saltwater intrusion," Payne said. "We have to find ways to get the most out of this limited resource from a plant physiology point of view, and the desert is a good place to look."

Payne said Tunisia has been making progress with using solar and wind technology for small-scale water desalinization for home use, and that India is using these alternative technologies for desalinization and as a practical energy source. He also noted that oil from certain varieties of olive trees growing in Tunisia's desert areas are higher in antioxidants and nutrients than those grown elsewhere, and opportunities may exist for commercial production of native or introduced medicinal plants.

"During the conference, attendees had an opportunity to see how some technologies have already been adopted and applied to help people in desert areas," said Cathryn Clement, academic coordinator for the Borlaug Institute and a conference organizer.

Conference activities included a trip to nearby Ksar Ghilane oasis to see a solar-powered desalinization facility and investigate how wind-energy technologies were being used to generate electricity for that area, she said.

Attendees also visited Regim Maatoug to observe how a Tunisian settlement program is helping desert nomads transition to an oasis-centered agrarian way of life.

"In Regim Maatoug man-made oases are being developed alongside housing, and the relocated nomadic people are being provided with community services such as education, medical treatment and utilities," said Clement. "Sections of land are given to families to farm, along with the training to help make them successful. There's an application and monitoring process to ensure those who have been relocated are keeping up their part."

Dr. Monty Dozier, Texas AgriLife Extension Service regional program director for agriculture and natural resources, discussed the use of rainwater harvesting technology during the conference.

"I showed how rainwater harvesting could be used to provide water for livestock and wildlife, as well as for landscaping around dwellings," Dozier said. "In Tunisia, they use rainwater harvesting and collection sites like ponds or oases which typically have date and olive trees growing around them. We showed how rainwater harvesting could be used for additional purposes."

Dozier said the technology used in arid and desert climates of Texas generally translates well to other desert regions, noting that while in Tunisia he visited an area with very similar vegetation and topography to the area around El Paso.

"I also have had people from India and Inner Mongolia express an interest in rainwater harvesting and its potential uses," he said.

Another important aspect of the conference was the amount of student involvement, Payne added.

"There was participation from students from Tunisia, Japan and other countries," he said. "They were especially interested in seeing how solar and wind technologies are being used in different applications."

Several Tunisian students have come to Texas A&M University as part of a reciprocal student exchange program, said Clement. "We have hosted seven Tunisian exchange students who came to A&M to take classes, and some of our students have attended the Institute National Agronomique de Tunise as part of a study abroad program," she said.

The desert technologies conference was organized by the Technological Park of Borj Cedria, University of Tsukuba in Japan and the Institute of the Arid Regions.

More information on the conference can be found at http://www.desert9.ira.rnrt.tn.

12/8/08
5 Star OK\12-B

Date: 12/2/08

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