This book addresses critical issues that align seamlessly with sustainability strategies. Extreme weather events, including increasingly frequent and severe droughts and floods, are now a global reality. Climate change poses a significant threat to both water and food security, driven by the rising temperatures that intensify the demand for water in crop cultivation. This crisis is further exacerbated by declining river runoff, reduced aquifer recharge, diminished inflows, heightened salinity, and rising sea levels, all of which present formidable challenges to water management. Consequently, the livelihoods of rural communities and the food security of urban populations are in imminent danger due to water-related impacts stemming primarily from climate variability. The implementation of sustainable adaptation measures to address climate variability and promote enhanced land and water management practices has vast potential for fortifying resilience in both water and food security challenges. Therefore, the pivotal step in crafting policies to tackle these challenges lies in comprehensively assessing the impact of climate change on water resources and agricultural systems. Closely aligning these policies will not only enhance the resilience of agricultural systems against future impacts but also contribute significantly to the meeting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To empower water resource management services for the future demands, it is imperative that we re-evaluate existing approaches to managing, mobilizing, and safeguarding this finite resource in the arid and semi-arid regions. This calls for the introduction of innovative technologies that facilitate integrated resource management and prevention. It is a premier platform for academics, researchers, students, policymakers, and stakeholders from government, industry, and society to explore pioneering ideas, techniques, and tools aimed at addressing the global impacts of climate change while concurrently reinforcing resilience in water and food security.
Professor Salem Al-Naemi is President of University of Doha for Science and Technology and has more than 30 years of work experience in both government and private sectors. He is Successful Executive with considerable leadership experience in education, government and business organizations such as Qatar University, Statistics Department/Planning Council, Supreme Education Council and Milaha. Professor Al-Naemi has an extensive international experience working as Managing Director of companies in France, Germany and India. His expertise lies in organizational strategies, managerial leadership, communication and operational efficiency to accomplish goals and achieve success for an organization. He has worked with a diverse workforce and in many multi-national organizations in key positions such as Executive Vice-President of Support Services, CFO and CIO, handling finances, information technology, human capital and administration functions.
Professor Rachid Benlamri is Vice-President and Academic at the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) and holds a rich academic experience of over 30 years. Prior to joining UDST, Prof. Benlamri worked as Vice-President Academic at the Canadian University of Dubai. He also worked as Professor of Software Engineering and Head of the Department of Software Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at Lakehead University, Canada. His research interests are in the areas of artificial intelligence, data science, semantic web, knowledge engineering, health informatics and mobile and ubiquitous computing. He supervised over 70 students and postdoctoral fellows. He served as Keynote Speaker and as General Chair for many international conferences. Prof. Benlamri serves on the editorial board of several Q1 journals and over 140 papers, mainly in Q1 journals and peer-reviewed international conference proceedings.
Professor Walter Leal Filho is Senior Professor and Head of the Research and Transfer Centre "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management” at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He also chairs the International Climate Change Information and Research Programme (ICCIRP). Professor Leal Filho has written, co-written, edited, or co-edited more than 800 publications, including books, book chapters and papers in refereed journals. This includes the African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, a 4-volume publication illustrating the means via which climate change adaptation is being implemented in Africa today and the Handbook of Climate Change Management: Research, Leadership, Transformation, a 6-volume compendium on the theory and practice of climate change management. With 229 chapters, to which over 500 authors from across all geographical regions have contributed, this is the largest non-publicly funded editorial project on climate change adaptation ever produced.
Professor Jeffrey McDonnell is University of Saskatchewan Distinguished Professor of Hydrology and Associate Director of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. He is Winner of the 2016 International Hydrology Prize from the International Association of Hydrological, UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization and 2009 Dalton Medal from the European Geosciences Union. McDonnell is Member of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Academia Europaea. He is Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America and the Royal Geographical Society. He has been Recipient of numerous awards, among them the Outstanding Achievement Award of the New Zealand Hydrological Society, the Ray K. Linsley Award for Surface Water of the American Institute of Hydrology, the Gordon Warwick Medal of the British Society for Geomorphology and the Scientific and Technological Achievement Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Professor Rehan Sadiq is Provost and Vice-President Academic at University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan, Professor of Civil Engineering and Distinguished University Scholar. Dr. Sadiq is World-Leading Researcher in the areas of asset management of water supply systems, environmental risk analysis and lifecycle assessment of built environment. He is Author of more than 750 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, book chapters and technical reports. With nearly 28k citations, he is among the top cited environmental engineering researchers globally, consistently ranked in the top 2% of scientists in the category of environmental science and civil engineering. Dr. Sadiq has served and chaired numerous Canadian and international scientific committees and conferences. He sits on the editorial board of many international journals in his field and is also Elected Fellow of numerous professional associations.
Dr. Haruna Moda is Associate Professor and Department Head: Environmental Health and Safety at University of Doha for Science and Technology, Doha, Qatar. Haruna has several peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, book chapters and technical reports. Haruna has served in several international scientific committees, journal editorial boards and conferences technical committees and is actively engaged in research, consultancy and knowledge transfer projects in the UK, West Africa and Middle East in the area of workplace safety culture and behavior, occupational hazards exposure and management, climate change mitigation and safety response among outdoor workers, e-waste management. Dr. Haruna Moda is Chartered Member of Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and belongs to several professional bodies that include International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB), Higher Education Academy.
