Israel’s Desert Is Setting for Key Climate Change Conference

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Experts on climate change and its impact on people and the environment gathered this week in the desert of southern Israel for the annual Conference on Drylands, Deserts and Desertification (DDD), hosted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at its Sde Boker campus.

The international event brought in more than 200 speakers and scores of attendees from dozens of countries, including India, Morocco and the United States.

Guests included researchers in climate science, environmental science and desertification, attending numerous panels over the course of the week-long event. Much of the focus was on renewable energy and how it impacts on the landscape of a country, in particular solar energy and its spatial demands.

Keynote lectures at the DDD conference included an address by Professor Henry Falk from Emory University on how climate change will impact public health and the measures available to mitigate that phenomenon.

The Media Line spoke to Ben-Gurion University Professor Avigad Vonshak, one of the driving forces behind the conference, who until this year was at the forefront of the event. According to Vonshak, DDD is one of the only conferences of its kind that is affiliated with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Indeed, one of the guest speakers was Dr. Barron Joseph Orr, the lead scientist at the UNCCD.

Next week The Media Line will present in-depth reports on the state of solar power in Israel and on reforestation and its link to halting desertification.