Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Water Management Strategies in Date Palm Farming: A Path toward Sustainable Agriculture in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alanazi, Omar Ghaleb; Ainslie, AndrewAbstract This dissertation examines water management strategies among date-palm farmers in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia. The qualitative study, grounded in agroecology and the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus, explores how practices such as drip irrigation, mulching, crop diversification and alternative water sources are implemented and perceived. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 18 farmers (5-7 ha each), and the data were analysed using thematic coding. Moreover, two-thirds of participants use drip irrigation (12/18 = 67%), most monitor water visually rather than with sensors (72%), and cost and affordability were the dominant barriers (83%). Furthermore, 72% reported having attended some form of training, and 44% expressed concerns about salinity. These local findings resonate with national and regional pressures: agriculture accounts for approximately 72% of freshwater withdrawals globally and stresses renewable budgets in MENA states (Buchholz, 2023), while Saudi investment in desalination is substantial $14.6 billion in projects, and desalination provided roughly 60% of water in 2019 (Fleck, 2023). On the one hand, agroecological measures, mulching, composting and residue reuse, offer low-cost, soil-building benefits (Gliessman et al., 2022; Kavvadias et al., 2024), and hydrogels from date residues can improve retention (Alsubaie et al., 2025). On the other hand, WEF trade-offs are clear: saving water via smart systems may increase energy demand and require policy alignment (Mabhaudhi et al., 2022; Sušnik et al., 2023). Farmers’ pragmatic openness to technology, yet they request targeted subsidies, technician networks and training. Therefore, the thesis argues for locally tailored packages combining agroecological practices, affordable drip retrofits, treated wastewater trials (publicly supported) and WEF-aware planning to sustain production in Al-Ula, with implications for policy and oasis biodiversity stewardship (MEWA; Abd El-Ghani et al., 2025). Moreover, projected climate trends threaten date productivity, with temperature and precipitation negatively affecting yields and slowing growth rates, emphasising the urgency for adaptive water strategies (Emam, 2025).18 0Item Restricted ASSESSING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGIES USED IN GREEN SAUDI INITIATIVE AFFORESTATION PROJECTS IN SAUDI ARABIA(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Albalawi, Raghad Mutiq; Martin, AdrianThis paper is a critical analysis of the sustainability of irrigation technologies used in afforestation projects through the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI). Since Saudi Arabia is experiencing acute lack of water, desertification and climate issues, the realization of the ambitious project of SGI to plant 10 billion trees by 2030 lies in the adoption of environmentally sound, socially acceptable and economically viable irrigation systems. This paper relied on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approaches and a systematic literature review (SLR) of 52 articles published between 2016 and 2025. The results indicate that irrigation technologies are under four categories; conventional systems, efficient systems, alternative water-use technologies, and intelligent/data-driven systems. High-efficiency irrigation techniques including drip irrigation and partial root-zone drying show high levels of water-use efficiency, with up to 50 percent lower water consumption levels, without losing yield. There are alternative water-use strategies, especially treated wastewater, which are reliable and renewable, but public opposition and health issues impede their mass acceptance. The ability to deliver transformational potential of Smart IoT-based systems integrating AI and remote sensing is limited by cost, scale and digital literacy. Analysis also reveals that although environmental advantages are promising, bad management poses a threat of soil salinization and ecological disturbance. Economically, the upfront costs are very high, which inhibits the adoption by smallholders, with the need of subsidies, financing and localization of technology. On the social front, behavioral opposition and cultural attitudes play an important role in adoption, especially as far as wastewater reuse is concerned. The paper reaches the conclusion that sustainable irrigation in the context of SGI must be balanced in mixing technological innovation, coherence of governance, funding means, and community participation. Some of the strategic recommendations are capacity-building, incentive structure, transparent communication campaign, effective monitoring system and regional cooperation. With a strategy of environmental ambition combined with economic realism and social inclusivity, SGI has the potential to become a model of sustainable greening in arid conditions internationally.13 0