14-15 November 2019. Madrid. International Symposium on the use of Non-Conventional Waters to achieve Food Security DESALINATION - “Advancing desalination: reducing energy consumption and environmental footprint” Presentation by Ms Dionysia Lyra, International Centre on Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), United Arab Emirates

1. Utilizing the reject brine from desalination for implementing
integrated agri-aquaculture farming in desert areas
Dionysia Angeliki Lyra
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
E-mail address: d.lyra@biosaline.org.ae
International Symposium on the use of Non-Conventional Waters to achieve Food Security
14-15 November 2019, Madrid, Spain

4. ICBA’s Global Reach

5. Challenge: Food & nutrition security enhancement in Desert
environments
↓

6. Potential to implement the
integrated agri-aquaculture farming
Modular
farms
Vegetables
Fish
Livestock
Multi-purpose
Halophytes
Salt-tolerant
grasses as
forage
Efficient
(↑ water &
nutrients use
efficiency)
Climate
Resilient
(↑ diversity of
crops)
Innovative
(low-quality
water,
halophytes)
Food and
nutrition
security
(Multi-source
food)

7. Sustainable
Easy to
operate
Cost-
effective
Productive Profitable
Six Principles of modular farms development
Tailormade

8. Objectives of IAAS research
1. Testing different combinations of IAAS that incorporate saline
water sources
2. Evaluating the economic feasibility and environmental
sustainability of IAAS
3. Scaling-up IAAS farming in other regions
4. Developing guidelines for IAAS implementation and on the
proper practices for the safe use of saline water resources used for
fish farming and halophytes irrigation
5. Capacity building of extension services and farmers through
training courses in order to get familiar with the IAAS, its
components and proper management

9. Research Beneficiaries
- Rural communities located in hot and dry areas could benefit from the inland
and coastal modular farms in the MENA region, South America, the southern
USA and the Mediterranean Basin.
- IAAS have the advantage that can be adapted at any location from the least
developed countries and small island states to high income countries
depending on the level of investment.

10. Past ICBA research highlights on IAAS

11. Coastal farm in Umm Al Quwain in UAE

12. Coastal farmInland farm

13. Current projects on IAAS
EXPO project Phase II IAAS @ Red Sea Governorate in Egypt -
HSBC project

14. Future plans and tentative projects
• Algae incorporation in IAAS
• Use of the RO-brine from solar desalination units
• Morocco / Laayoune area: Inland and Coastal IAAS in
collaboration with OCP-Foundation
• Cape Verde: Developing IAAS for SIDs (Small Island
Development States) in collaboration with FAO – WASAG

15. Center of Excellence looking at Agriculture for Tomorrow
Thank you!
ICBA is a founding member of the Association of
International Research and Development
Centers for Agriculture (AIRCA) www.biosaline.org