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The Inter-Islamic Network on Biosaline Agriculture (INBA) is a non-political, non-profit, independent, and autonomous body promoting biosaline agriculture under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ministerial Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH). It was established in 2002 at the 10th General Assembly meeting of COMSTECH Zilhaj 3-5, 1422 Hijri.
INBA provides a forum for collaborative actions and networking activities that stimulates and strengthen national and international institutions, and aid agencies, in particular those in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member states. Members include Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources, universities, national, regional and international agricultural research and development agencies, extension services, and end-users, including farmer groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
In 2008 INBA continued its networking with the other Inter-Islamic Networks (IINs), in particular the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resrouces Development and Management (INWRDAM). INBA also participated actively in the 13th General Assembly Meeting of COMSTECH, which was attended by all OIC Ministers.
The INBA Coordinator also attended an Expert Consultation Meeting for the OIC Water Vision 1441H held in Jordan during October 2008.
In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) global network on Salinization Prevention and Productive Use of Salt -Affected Habitats (SPUSH), INBA organized the First Expert Consultation on advances in assessment and monitoring of salinization for managing salt-affected habitats. The meeting, which took place 26-29 November 2007, attacted senior management scientists from around the world.
Two specific issues were addressed:
- Advances in tools for assessing and monitoring salinity and applications for managing salt-affected habitats
- Marginal water resources and their utilization.
Senior scientists, managers, policy makers and directors of R&D organizations participated in the event, which featured presentations, a field trip and a full day of discussions concerning future strategies and guidelines. The recommendations of the meeting were used to generate collaborative project proposals and activities.
INBA/FAO also published selected papers of high quality for submission to peer-reviewed journals as review papers.
INBA published a directory of scientists engaged in biosaline agriculture in OIC member states entitled Who-is-Who in Biosaline Agriculture. It also prepared the database of this directory in Microsoft Access. Complimentary copies are available on requests by sending an e-mail to INBA office at
inba@biosaline.org.ae. Scientists are encouraged to provide their personal and scientific profile to Dr Shoaib Ismail, Coordinator INBA, for updating the database.
Download the pdf version of Who-is-Who in Biosaline Agriculture: Directory of Scientists in OIC Member States.
INBA provides library services (Biosaline Information Services ) to its members. This includes an Information/Literature Search Request from bibliographic databases such as Agris, Agricola and CABI as well as the ICBA Library Catalogue. It also provides facilities for obtaining copies of specific article or book chapter, subject to the clearance of copyright declarations. More information can be obtained from inba@biosaline.org.ae.
INBA co-sponsored a special session on Food security and unconventional water resources at an international conference on Water, land and food security in arid and semi arid regions held in Bari, Italy, 6-11 September 2005. It also sponsored Eng. Saud Ali Farsi from Oman (INBA member country) to participate in the conference and present a paper on Food security and use of non-conventional water resources in Sultanate of Oman.
INBA participated in an international seminar on Biosaline Agriculture and High Salinity Tolerance, held in Mugla, Turkey, 9-15 January 2005.
INBA published a book of abstracts and co-published the proceedings of an INBA-INOC workshop entitled Marine pollution and the impacts of seawater desalination plants on coastal environment in 2004.
INBA co-sponsored a seminar on Biosaline agriculture: Challenges and opportunities for products from field to markets on 7 June 2004 at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UAE. The seminar was organized by ICBA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dubai, UAE. The seminar was attended by more than 150 scientists and top executives of biosaline enterprises from Australia, Eritrea, Holland, India, Pakistan, the UAE and the USA. The seminar demonstrated how to profit from saline resources.
INBA organized an important workshop in collaboration with the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM). This workshop on Reuse of Marginal Water in Irrigation took place 3-6 January 2004 at ICBA.
INBA hosted an International Workshop on Marine Pollution and Impact of Seawater Desalination Plants on Coastal Environment 1-3 December 2003 at ICBA. It was a joint venture of the Inter-Islamic Network on Oceanography (INOC) and INBA under the umbrella of COMSTECH and supported by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
INBA publishes its latest news and that of other Inter-Islamic Networks in Biosalinity News. The newsletter is published thrice annually by ICBA in English and Arabic.
A meeting of the Executive Directors of various Inter-Islamic Networks was held at ICBA under the auspices of INBA on 25 June 2002. The meeting was attended by the Executive Secretary COMSTECH and Executive Director’s of INWRDAM (Jordan), INOGE (Egypt), INTROM (Malaysia), INOC (Turkey) and UAE representatives from Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries (UAE) and INBA/ICBA.
The INBA Brochure and the INBA Statutes can be obtained by sending an e-mail to inba@biosaline.org.ae.
Download the Membership Form.