This book is an outcome of collaborative efforts of a multidisciplinary team of scientists. The core objective of this book is to provide cross-sectoral information on the different aspects of the terrestrial environment and ecosystems of Kuwait. The book will be considered as a ready source of information for those seeking information on the terrestrial environment and ecosystems, assessment and restoration, as well as sustainable uses and management. In spite of Kuwait’s hyper-arid environment, it is rich in natural resources including a wide range of native plants, animal species, different habitats, protected areas, diversified soils and water and oil resources. While the desert of Kuwait constitutes various features, such as sand sheet, sand dunes, nebkhas, inland and coastal sabkhas, rock outcrop, wadis and farming areas, it is rich in flora and fauna (native plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, etc.). Due to changing climate, deserts of Kuwait as well as other countries are under severe threat of degradation and the degradation may be irreversible. To realize these impacts, an effort is being made to provide a ready source of information to highlight the potential threats to the terrestrial ecosystems and formulate adaptation and mitigation strategies for long-term ecosystems services in Kuwait as well as other countries located in a desert environment, such as Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, Africa and countries in the Arab region. The book includes sixteen chapters covering multidiscipline subjects (such as natural resources, climate and climate change, geographical features, terrestrial habitats, ecosystems and threats, water and soil resources, agriculture, food security, water-energy-food-climate nexus, green-grey-blue water footprints of various crops, etc.). Thus, this book is a unique resource that provides the latest scientific information in a single volume.

This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand the challenges of environmental degradation and learn about the sustainable solutions needed to address these critical issues. Today, the entire globe is suffering from various forms of environmental degradation, resource depletion, and an imbalance of natural phenomena. In this context, one of the major issues is loss of ecosystem services and proper functioning of natural ecosystems. Pollution, ecological invasion, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, and loss of productivity across various ecosystems have become the biggest challenges humankind is faced with. Considering Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the major target is to restore degraded ecosystems and their functionality, which will bring back the valuable ecosystem services of a diverse ecosystem. Ecosystem Management: Climate Change and Sustainability addresses all these issues to teach a global readership the dimensions of ecosystem services and ways toward a future sustainable world.

and used in munitions. Rather the requirements for the agent’s military effects took precedence. In addition, the interaction among the political, technical, and legal challenges connected with the known or possible risks posed by CW agents is complex and sometimes not well understood. This is usually because technical considerations, when acted on, are almost invariably informed by political ones, such as various legal requirements. The book contains nine chapters covering different aspects of the research on environmental consequences of war and its aftermath and covers in one additional chapter more general issues such as prevention of war and its environmental c- sequences, the legal, political, and technical background to selected environmental and human health effects of CW agents, and the atmospheric transport and depo- tion of persistent organic pollutants under warfare conditions to more specific ones related to two main tragic examples: the war in the Balkans and the Gulf War. Aspects of the war in the Balkans cover contamination by heavy metals in Serbian national parks, the impact of NATO strikes on the Danube river basin, and the problems associated with transuranium elements. The Gulf War in Kuwait covers other problems related to the impact of oil contamination, the impact on grou- water resources, and the soil damage of ground fortifications among other envir- mental and health problems.

The environmental devastation caused by military conflict has been witnessed in the wake of the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Kosovo conflict. This book brings together leading international lawyers, military officers, scientists and economists to examine the legal, political, economic and scientific implications of wartime damage to the natural environment and public health. The book considers issues raised by the application of humanitarian norms and legal rules designed to protect the environment, and the destructive nature of war. Contributors offer an analysis and critique of the existing law of war framework, lessons from peacetime environmental law, means of scientific assessment and economic valuation of ecological and public health damage, and proposals for future legal and institutional developments. This book provides a contemporary forum for interdisciplinary analysis of armed conflict and the environment, and explores ways to prevent and redress wartime environmental damage.

This volume reviews present sources and levels of pollution in The Gulf, assesses their causes and effects on biota and ecosystems, and identifies preventive and remedial measures reducing levels of pollution and mitigating adverse impacts. It is supported by UNESCO, Doha.