Workshop Location and Climate

The workshop will take place at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR), located in the Israel's Negev desert highlands. The Institutes are situated on the Sede Boqer Campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), 50 km south of Beer-Sheva.

Overlooking at the beautiful Zin wadi, the Sede Boqer campus serves as home to several institutions, among them another university research Institute – The Ben-Gurion Research Center, a residential high school for environmental education, and a desert field school.

It is also the burial site of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime Minister and a great believer in the potential of the desert.

Because of its high desert location, 430 m above sea level, the winter climate at Sede Boqer in October is cool but sunny during the day and cold at night, with the possibility of rain or heavy dew. Autumn average temperatures range from about 10-31oC and can reach a minimum of 5oC at night.

Language

The official language of the Workshop will be English, including lectures and printed material.


About the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research

The Institute for Desert Research was established in Sede Boqer in 1974 through the Council for Higher Education in 1972, followed by a decision of the Israeli government in 1973.

After the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation made a generous contribution to Ben-Gurion University, the Institute was renamed the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert research (BIDR).

Some 65 scientists, 60 technical and administrative staff members, and over 100 Israeli and foreign research students, constitute a balanced blend for carrying out basic and applied research related to "Desert Sciences".

In 1998 the Albert Katz School for Desert Studies was established as part of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on the Sede Boqer campus. It serves as a home for graduate students in a range of disciplines associated with deserts and desertification 

 
Activities at the Institutes cover basic research in:



·  Environmental physics with applications in desert meteorology and solar energy

·  Water sciences and technology with applications in water resource management, 
   wastewater treatment and bioremediation

·  Ecology with applications in conservation biology and environmental protection

·  Plant and animal physiology with applications in desert agriculture and biotechnology, 
   livestock, and aquaculture

·   Cellular and molecular biology with applications in desert biotechnologies and biodegradation 
    of environmental pollutions

·   Social sciences and architecture with applications in desert regional planning and human habitats

·   Public policy and legislation to combat desertification

 
These diverse research and advanced teaching activities are carried out in the laboratories, classes and other facilities on the Sede Boqer Campus, as well as in research stations and field research sites scattered over the Negev desert. 

The Negev Desert

The Negev desert comprises fully one third of Israel. Deceptively quite and barren, the Negev packs more surprises than meet the eye, between the Bedouin in Beer-Sheva and coral reefs of Eilat. There are scattered oases: great stretches of hard limestone dolomite rock and red Nubian sandstone, flat vistas of saline earth and craters that tell the story of geological shifts and erosion from time immemorial.

Thanks to a combination of fresh water and high temperatures, aquatic and desert plants of many varieties flourish. Some floral vegetation is unique to this area.