Recognizing the importance of policy debate and knowledge sharing in the field of development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the World Bank (Middle East and North Africa Region) agreed in March 2010 to hold joint high-level development seminars around issues pertaining to the Arab World. These were to be known as the Arab Development Symposia (ADS) and will be held on a regular basis, every 18 months or so, at the Arab Fund premises in Kuwait. The goal was to provide an opportunity for policymakers, practitioners and academicians to share ideas and experiences on topics which are high on the Arab development agenda. As such, the ADS series complement other fora for research and knowledge sharing and dissemination such as the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and the Research Initiative for Arab Development (RIAD).

Recognizing the importance of policy debate and knowledge sharing in the field of development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the World Bank (Middle East and North Africa Region) agreed in March 2010 to hold joint high-level development seminars around issues pertaining to the Arab World. These were to be known as the Arab Development Symposia (ADS) and will be held on a regular basis, every 18 months or so, at the Arab Fund premises in Kuwait. The goal was to provide an opportunity for policymakers, practitioners and academicians to share ideas and experiences on topics which are high on the Arab development agenda. As such, the ADS series complement other fora for research and knowledge sharing and dissemination such as the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and the Research Initiative for Arab Development (RIAD).

Since the adoption of the open-door policy, the Chinese dietary pattern has changed greatly. Based on the dietary changes, this study analyzed the arable land and water footprints (WFs) for the food consumption of urban and rural residents in China. The results showed that the arable land demand and WFs for meat, vegetable oil, soybeans and liquor exceeded those for other foods, and the per capita arable land and WFs for food consumption of urban residents were higher than those of rural residents. The total arable land and WFs for the food consumption of residents increased by 16.9 million ha (from 91.1 to 108 million ha) and 214.5 billion m³ (from 457.9 to 672.4 billion m³), respectively, from 1983 to 2017. Specifically, the total arable land and WFs for the food consumption of urban residents increased by 45.9 million hm² (from 22.6 to 68.5 million hm²) and 318.3 billion m³ (from 113.2 to 431.5 billion m³), respectively. Additionally, those of rural residents decreased by 29.7 million hm² (from 69.2 to 39.5 million hm²) and 103.9 billion m³ (344.8 to 240.9 billion m³), respectively, mainly due to the migration of the rural population to cities and the reductions in per capita arable land and WFs due to increased crop yields. The arable land and blue WFs required for food consumption will reach 127.7 million hm² and 221.1 billion m³, respectively, in 2030. However, these values will be reduced by approximately 23% and 20%, respectively, to 98.9 million hm² and 177.8 billion m³ under a balanced dietary pattern. Measures such as improving the investment in agricultural research and development, advocating a balanced diet, and increasing the import of resource-intensive foods could alleviate the pressure on land and water resources.