Water conservation is of particular importance for arid regions, including many Muslim-majority countries. With the added pressures of human population growth and expansion and global climate change, water conservation efforts are imperative to extending the life of current water supplies as well as to sourcing water treatment methods that are religiously congruent. We review Qur’anic verses that address water usage and conservation. We searched the English translations of the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an and the King Saud University Electronic Moshaf Project for Qur’anic scripture related to water and water conservation. A total of 25 verses were found that related to creation, water usage for agriculture and food provision/production and as a common resource for humanity. Qur’anic scripture encourages gratitude for water and wise stewardship of this resource. Specific prohibitions against the reuse of water (e.g., treated water) were not found, and recent Islamic literature supports the use of cleansed greywater. Treated greywater may thus be an additional source for agricultural needs, thus reducing the stress placed on already limited water supplies. Water conservation falls within Qur’anic scripture.

Sea-level rise threatens both human communities and vulnerable species within coastal areas. Joint spatial planning can allow conservation and social resiliency goals to work in synergy. We present a case study integrating distribution information of a threatened saltmarsh bird, the eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), with social information to facilitate such joint planning. We constructed a distribution model for the species within an urbanizing coastal region (New Jersey, USA) and integrated this with publicly available parcel and protected area data to summarize ownership patterns. We estimated that c. 0.3–2.8% (c. 260–2200 ha) of available saltmarsh is occupied by eastern black rail, most of which is publicly owned (79%). Privately owned saltmarsh was spread across nearly 5000 individual parcels, 10% of which contained areas with the highest likelihood of rail presence according to our model (top quartile of predicted occupancy probabilities). Compared with all privately owned saltmarsh, parcels with probable rail habitat were larger (median: 5 versus 2 ha), contained more marsh (87% versus 59%) and were less economically valuable (US$11 200 versus US$36 100). Our approach of integrating species distributions with landownership data helps clarify trade-offs and synergies in species conservation and coastal resiliency planning.

Barren, desert-like environments have been created over large areas in Afghanistan, and various degrees of desertification can be seen especially in the southwestern plains. Extensive overgrazing, frequent drought, and unwise land-use, have initiated processes of local desertification also elsewhere in Afghanistan.

The first step in the restoration of depleted vegetation is to correct the improper uses that have been responsible for these conditions. Improper grazing practices of rangelands are a primary cause of reductions in the productivity of arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Afghanistan.

The second step in restoration is to prepare a detailed revegetation plan. The following maps and information are needed: (1) a vegetation-cover map, (2) a soil-series map, (3) a topographic map, and (4) baseline data on climatic conditions. The vegetationcover map identifies the plant biomass potential and the species that might be suitable for revegetation. The soil-series map is accompanied by a description of the physical and chemical features of the topsoil and subsoil along with an assessment of the general herbage production potential. The topographic map helps with species selection and planting methods. The climatic parameters assist in determining the season of planting and any need for drought-resistant species to be planted.