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This paper will provide an inside of the situation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a country that has limited fresh water resources. This fact in conjunction with the sever depletion of groundwater aquifers (which contribute to 70% of total water resources in the UAE). The sharp population growth could create critical challenges in providing the irrigation requirements for the agricultural sector, required to reach food security in this country. The main purpose of this work is to investigate whether the future watering requirements for crop production purposes could be met and sustained in 2030. This would be done through, reviewing the available irrigation resources and predicting the projected demand, required to cover the agricultural sector. The conclusion indicates that, the total predicted watering requirement depending on the groundwater resources for crops production would be approximately 2198 million m 3 /year. On the other hand, the year 2030 could be the first year with no more supply from groundwater resources. Leaving the future of the agricultural sector in a real critical situation, that can best be mitigated by adopting the best sustainable agricultural practices.

Climate change and global warming became a real concern for global food security. The world population explosion is a critical factor that results in enormous emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), required to cover the growing demands of fresh water, food, and shelter. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a significant oil-producing country, which is included in the list of 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world’s GHGs and thus involved in the top 30 countries over the world with emission deficits. At the same time, the UAE is located in an arid region of the world, with harsh environmental conditions. The sharp population increases and the massive growth in the urbanization are primary sources, lead to further stresses on the agricultural sector. Thus, the future of the food production industry in the country is a challenging situation. Consequently, the primary objective of this work is to shed light on the current concerns related to climate change and food security, through describing the implications of climate change on the food production sector of the UAE. Tailored solutions that can rescue the future of food security in the country are also highlighted.

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The essential oil (EO) of the desert cotton (Aerva javanica (Burm. f.) Juss. ex Schul.) was extracted by hydrodistillation, from A. javanica flowers growing in the sandy soils of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wild desert. The influence of seasonal variation on flowers’ EO yield was studied. The flowers’ EO yield obtained from spring samples (0.011%) was significantly the highest followed by early summer (0.009%), winter (0.007%), and autumn samples (0.006%), respectively. The flowers’ EO antioxidant analysis were tested by DPPH, FRAP and ABTS assays (in vitro). Results proved that A. javanica flowers’ EO, isolated during the four seasons, is a good source of natural bioactive antioxidants. Based on the three tested assays, the highest antioxidant activity was recorded in the spring. Testing of the chemical composition of the flowers’ EO was conducted for the season with the highest yield and the best antioxidant performance, recorded in spring, by a combination of gas chromatograph (GC) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). This led to the identification of 29 volatile components, in which the flowers’ oil was characterized by angustione as a major compound. Photos by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed prominent availability of star-shaped trichomes in the epidermis of the flowers.