The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) has released an atlas of pasture species and varieties in the Arab countries. The atlas includes maps of plant geography and natural pastures and highlights ACSAD’s role in maintaining and developing pastures and plant types and species. ACSAD Director Rafiq Ali Saleh said in a statement to SANA that the aim of issuing the atlas is to document the promising pastures being the most important renewable resources for the Arab countries. He indicated the close link between the deterioration of vegetation and migration from rural areas, which poses pressure on the Arab governments to secure income sources, as well as the food security and soil degradation threats. Based in Damascus, ACSAD was established in 1968 as an Arab organization that is aimed at unifying efforts to develop scientific agricultural research in dry and arid zones, exchange information and expertise and import advanced technologies to increase agricultural production.