The DRI Foundation is honored to receive a generous donation from the International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) to provide scholarships to graduate students working on arid land issues. For over 30 years, IALC and DRI have partnered on research to improve the lives of people living in arid and semiarid areas of the world, with an emphasis on the Middle East. The research has focused on addressing the environmental challenges of arid lands, specifically on sustainable agriculture and natural resources that support more than one-fifth of the world’s population.
“This donation will provide scholarship funds to continue the important research on arid lands issues by supporting student-led fieldwork and publication preparation,” said DRI Research Professor Emeritus Alan Gertler, Ph.D. “Approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface is desert, and much more research is needed to address the environmental challenges of arid lands.”
Throughout its 30+ years, IALC was dedicated to supporting ecological sustainability of the world’s drylands. The research activities of the IALC will continue through scholarships, including this donation to the DRI Foundation.
To support scholarships for graduate students at DRI or for more information on how to make a gift to support DRI, please contact Kristin Burgarello, director of advancement, at (775) 673-7386 or Kristin.Burgarello@dri.edu.
![IALC-donor-story semiarid areas of the world - Middle East](https://www.dri.edu/wp-content/uploads/IALC-donor-story.jpg)