Author(s)

Meshal M. Abdullah^1,2*, Amjad T. Assi³, Nasser B. Asadalla^2,4

¹Department Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
²Natural Environmental Systems and Technologies (NEST) Research Group, Ecolife Sciences Research and Consultation, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
³Department Agriculture and Biological Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
⁴Public Authority of Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF), Al Rabya, Kuwait.

Ecosystems in arid regions play a pivotal role in providing services to vulnerable environments with considerable challenges including extreme temperatures, low precipitation, variable climate change, and infertile soil. The countries of the arid regions are facing more challenges due to land degradation, biodiversity loss, the scarcity of water and food resources, and protecting their inhabitant’s public health. In many cases, policymakers in these countries are aware of the challenges, but they are seeking through scientific communities to develop clear sustainability and resiliency plans. Due to the complexity associated with arid ecosystem services, the scientist communities are still focusing on the development of integrated ecosystem management approaches. Within this line of commitment to our future generation, the paper in hand presents a framework for an Integrated Ecosystem Sustainability Approach (IESA). The core of this nexus approach is to understand and quantify the interlinkages between the ecosystem components, internal and external stresses, and society needs. The paper also identifies the key gaps to be considered when applying the IESA approach to arid ecosystem management plans.

Integrated Ecosystem Sustainability Approach (IESA), Ecosystem Services, Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystem, Ecosystem Complexity, Ecosystem Nexus

Abdullah, M. , Assi, A. and Asadalla, N. (2019) Integrated Ecosystem Sustainability Approach: Toward a Holistic System of Thinking of Managing Arid Ecosystems. Open Journal of Ecology, 9, 493-505. doi: 10.4236/oje.2019.911032.