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The last decade of the 20th century witnessed a sharp increase in losses of arable land from salinisation. In Europe this was especially hard for the farmers in the Mediterranean countries where irrigation farming is very common and many fields have reached a soil salinity level which prevents farmers from raising common crops. This is a world wide problem in dry and semi-dry tropical regions. The losses in soil fertility in certain regions, is so severe that rural populations are either, starving, leaving their villages or requesting permanent living support through foreign aid. Several scientists in Europe have developed research projects for the sustainable utilisation of halophytes. Together with their North African, Arabian and South Asian colleagues they developed a research network which produced rapidly promising aspects for cashcrop halophytes. Most of their work was based on the collection of papers from an international meeting in Al Ain/UAE. This volume presents examples of research from that meeting and the presentation of research topics. It was found that two avenues were of immediate need: the development of pilot projects and the organization of an international society for halophyte utilisation. Both aspects are dealt with in this book and together with other recent relevant publications will serve as a guide for future efforts to develop the common utilisation of cashcrop halophytes. This volume should be of value for all scientists and persons interested in R and D projects for the future use of halophytes and saline irrigation systems.
