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.
“For centuries, people in arid lands prepared special plots for crops with retaining walls. The floodwater was conveyed by dirt channels. We’ve refined this system to produce trees, fodder and grain.”
– Prof. Pedro Berliner
Desert & Water Research News
see all newsSaving the Dead Sea
In this NOVA special, a BGU geochemist shows what might happen when the Red Sea and Dead Sea combine.
Can Olive Trees and Wheat Co-Exist?
At BGU's desert experimental farm, olive trees and wheat are sharing the same land.
Rare Truffle Cultivated in the Negev
A BGU professor is working to commercialize this delicacy for both consumption and environmental tourism.