BGU is recognized by the United Nations as a world leader in desert research, water resources and sustainable development of drylands.
BGU’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research are focused on harnessing the arid-zone ecosystem for human habitation. The Blaustein Institutes are comprised of three world-renowned research institutes: the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, and the Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research. The knowledge gained here is shared with the world, where the rapid expansion of desert, called desertification, affects 1 billion people in 100 countries.
Its Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies (AKIS) offers English-language master and doctoral degree programs in desert studies, and hydrology and water quality.
“You can look at soil erosion from the scientific level, but also at the social level. What are the human practices inked to erosion at a given place and time? How are these linked to political-economic relations?”
– Dr. Yaakov Garb
Desert & Water Research News
see all newsAn Oasis for People—and Goats—in the Negev
BGU expertise helps a desert goat cheese farm master its wastewater challenges.
Krypton Reveals Ancient Water Beneath the Negev
University of Chicago researchers collaborate with BGU to determine how an aquifer refilled 400,000 years ago.
Take a Walk With BGU Through a Negev Vineyard
BGU Prof. Aaron Fait’s expertise in desert viticulture could help a world in climate change.