PUBLICATIONS & IMPACT

Authored and Co-Edited Books

1. Baban S.M.J. and AL-Ansari N. (Editors) (2001). Living with Water Scarcity, Water Resources in the Jordan Badia Region, The Way Forward. AL al-Bayt University Publications, Jordan. 211Pages.

2. Baban S.M.J. (Editor) (2008). Enduring Geohazards In The Caribbean, Moving From The Reactive To The Proactive. University of the West Indies Press. Jamaica, West Indies. 256 Pages. ISBN: 978-976-640-204-4.

• Winner of the University of the West Indies Press for the ‘Best proposal in Environmental Studies, 2006’.

• Best Selling Scholarly Monograph, the University of the West Indies Press, 2010.

3. Baban S.M.J. (Editor) (2009). Research, the Journey from Pondering to Publishing. University of the West Indies Press. Jamaica, West Indies. 264Pages. ISBN:978-976-8125-90-3.

4. Heshmati A., Dilani A., and Baban S.M.J., (Editors). (2012). Perspectives on Kurdistan’s Economy and Society in Transition.Vol.1. 363 Pages. Nova Science Publishers, USA. 363 Pages. ISBN: 978-1-62257-934-1.

5. Heshmati A., Dilani A., and Baban S.M.J. (Editors). (2013). Perspectives on Kurdistan’s Economy and Society in Transition. Vol. 2. Pages 555. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (ISBN (10): 1-4438-4836-0, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-4836-7).

6. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume One: The Period 1980-2000. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 237 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2439-2013.

7. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Two: The Period 2001-2003.Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 223 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2440-2013.

8. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Three: The Period 2004-2005. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 233 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2441-2013.

9. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Four: The Period 2006-2007. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 210 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2441-2013.

10. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Five: The Period 2008-2013.Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 180 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2443-2013.

11. Baban S. M. J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Six: The Period: 1993-2008. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 276 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:2444 – 2013.

12. Baban S.M.J. (2013). A Compilation of International Resources Published by Professor Serwan M J Baban; Refereed Journal & Conference: Volume Seven: The Period: 2009-2013. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 228 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 2445 – 2013.

13. Baban S.M.J. (2014). Achieving Food and Water Sufficiency and Security for Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Iraq. 264 pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 1 – 2014.

14. Baban S.M.J. (2014). Managing Geo-Based Challenges; World-Wide Case Studies and Sustainable Local Solutions. Environmental Science and Engineering series, Sub-series: Environmental Science. Series Editors: Rod Allan, Ulrich Forstner and Wim Salomons. Springer International Publishing Switzerland.230 Pages. ISSN 1863 – 5520. ISBN: 978-3-319-07379-8.

15. Baban S.M.J. (2016). Practical Perspective on Water Resources Science and Management. Cihan University Publications. Kurdistan Regional Government. Erbil, Iraq. 396 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 60-2016.

16. Baban S.M.J. (2016). Advances in Suitability Science and Management. Cihan University Publications, Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil, Iraq. 471 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 65-2016

17. Baban S.M.J. (2017). Innovations in Geo-Sciences and Geo-Hazards Science and Management. Published by Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil, Iraq. 483 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq:63-2016.

18. Baban S.M.J. (2017). Applications in Land Use/Cover, Agriculture and Biodiversity. Published by Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil, Iraq. 447 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 1 – 2017.

19. Baban S.M.J. (2017). Stances on Higher Education and University Governance. Published by Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil, Iraq. 374 Pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 2-2017.

20. Baban S.M.J. (2017). Approaches to Sustainable Development Science and Management. Published by Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil, Iraq. 528 Pages. Published by Kurdistan Regional Government. Erbil, Iraq. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 3 – 2017.

21. Baban S.M.J. (2018). Universities in Developing Countries: A Road to Excellence. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing. 134 Pages. ISBN: 978-613-9-87426-2. This book in addition to English is also available in French, Italian, German and Portuguese languages.

22. Baban S.M.J. (2022). Nechirvan Barzani: Leading with Vision. Lambert Academic Publishing. 320 pages. This book in addition to English is also available in French, Italian, German and Portuguese languages.

23. Baban S.M.J., and Rafik T. (2024). University Management, How to Remain Relevant and Competitive. Ethics International Press Ltd, UK. 280 Pages. (In Press).

Professor Serwan M. J. Baban

BSc, MSc, PhD., DSc. PG. Cert. T. L.,

FRGS, FGS, FRSPSoc, FICDM.

This book owes its origin to a bi-national workshop on Water Resources and Environment in the Badia Region held in Mafraq, Jordan from 12-17 July 1999. It was organised by the Strategic Environment and Water Resources Research Unit (SEWRRU) at AL al-Bayt University, Jordan and The GIS Remote Sensing Research Utility (GRRU) Group at Coventry University, UK.

The book has four sections and twelve chapters. The First section introduces related to water resources issues and management, the physical settings, the Climate and Water Resources as well as the Demographic and Socio-economic Settings. The Second Section dealings with Water Resources Problems and Management Schemes including Water Shortages and Environmental Degradation, Ancient and Current Water Harvesting Schemes as well as Water Treatment and Reuse. The Third Section entitled New Perspectives on Old Problems and highlights the needs for learning from the past, developing a Research Agenda to Minimise Water Resources Degradation Using Remote Sensing and GIS as well as Using C137 to Study Soil Erosion and Sediment Delivery in Arid Lands. The final section focuses on Research Co-Ordination and Implementation and focuses on existing research institutions such as the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme and the Strategic Environment and Water Resources Research Unit at al-Bayt University in Jordan.

Landslides and flooding in the Caribbean are destructive, endemic forces that destroy homes, businesses and schools, cost millions of dollars annually and kill hundreds of men, women and children. This book promotes a holistic approach for managing geohazards in the region. It emphasizes a preventive, proactive approach rather than a reactive one. It demonstrates and evaluates the use of current approaches and technologies such as geographical information science, remote sensing and geographical positioning systems for managing geohazards.

The book is structured in three parts: the first focuses on landslides; the second on floods; and the third on managing geohazards in small island nations including the development of early warning systems. The book is useful for both undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in geohazards and geohazards management, geographical information science, remote sensing, engineering, geography, geology, hydrology, environmental sciences and management. Decision makers in government, industry and commerce will find in this compact overview of flooding and landslides in the region, the best approaches and technologies for managing them.

Despite having a workforce consisting of highly qualified staff, some universities do not have high levels of research productivity and lack a research culture. The possible reasons for research-inactive staff may be due to a lack of mentoring for 'new' members of staff in terms of research proposal preparations, viable research strategies, ongoing research supervision as well as finding and targeting funding agencies.

This book has been divided into three sections: the first defines and characterizes research, with chapters identifying strategies for research and pinpointing ethical issues; the second section discusses in detail developing the research proposal, formulating the research problem, using statistics effectively and evaluating the successful research project; and the final section addresses ways to write the research results in such a way as to secure funding and publish in peer-reviewed journals. It contains useful checklists, activities and practical suggestions to facilitate research productivity and output. The work is of interest to graduate students, junior-level faculty, and university administrators committed to increasing research productivity and global research funding and rankings.

This book provides sound conceptual understanding of the current approach to management and decision making regarding geo-based challenges in developing countries that tend to suffer from information poverty and subjectivity and are reactive. The book also provides the necessary technical tools to energize research thinking and develop locally driven practical and sustainable solutions, ultimately moving management and decision making from being reactive to being proactive. This book fills a void as there are no published books to show the way forward or to present real case studies for this purpose.

Case studies that utilize new technologies and scientific thinking are presented for developing sustainable management options based either on producing local applied research or on utilising relevant international research. These case studies are based on the author's first-hand experiences in arid/semi-arid (Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan), temperate (UK) and tropical environments (Malaysia, the Caribbean region, Indonesia and Australia).

The First World Kurdish Congress was held in October 2011 at Rotterdam with the theme of researching science and culture towards increased progress in Kurdistan. The papers presented focused on various important aspects of health, education, economy, culture and political science in Kurdistan. The objective was to create a network of academicians to exchange and develop knowledge on how to further enhance the progress within the Kurdish society.

This book is a collection of 20 studies presented at the Congress. The presentation topics are diverse, covering several areas pertinent to the current Kurdish situation. The studies are divided into eight areas including: human rights and freedom; greater Kurdistan, education and nation building; diaspora; politics and international relations; corruption; health care and trauma; and economy, business and science and technology.

The second scientific World Kurdish Congress was held in October 2012 at Hewler with the theme of improving the quality of life, science and culture for progress in Kurdistan. The papers presented focused on various important aspects of culture, economy, education, health, industry and political science in Kurdistan. The objective of this conference was to create a network of academicians to exchange and develop knowledge and work together with the Kurdistan Regional Government on how to further enhance the progress within the Kurdish society.

This volume is a collection of 26 studies presented at the Congress and includes an introduction by the editors and a summary report of the Congress. The topics presented here are diverse, covering several areas pertinent to the current Kurdish situation. The studies are divided into ten areas: namely, agriculture and rural development; diaspora; education and research; health and quality of life; industry; information technology and e-government; infrastructure and development; language; human rights; and politics. In the last part of the volume, the organization committee provides a compilation of recommendations from the Congress to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The book reports on the development and progress of the implementation of sustainability principles for improving Agriculture and Water Resources in the region in the shape of a specifically developed Road map which has, since June 2012, aimed to achieve food sufficiency and security for the region. The road map provided a way forward to rehabilitate and improve the agriculture sector based on a vision that introduces effective modern production, training, management and reflective systems for sustainable agriculture and food production in the region.

The outcomes, despite the short period of only two years in the Ministry, not receiving the requested budget, the outcomes show an optimistic picture in terms of operations and awareness of ethical and conduct issues whilst conducting Ministry business on daily basis. Furthermore, self-sufficiency has been achieved in some key agricultural strategic produce such as Wheat and Potatoes. Work is ongoing on 30 dams and further construction and will also start shortly the 7 giant strategic dams through either BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) or long-term loan formats. These dams collectively will meet the regions need for water sufficiency and security during 2019.2020. The Ministry has also completed work on some 86 ponds and there are plans to build about 50 more. The conclusion demonstrates the importance implementing the plans based on participatory decision making, following a clear and a transparent process and giving the highest priorities to quality assurance and control processes.

Baban S.M.J. and AL-Ansari N. (Editors) (2001). Living With Water Scarcity, Water Resources in the Jordan Badia Region, The Way Forward.AL al-Bayt University Publications, Jordan. 211pp.

Baban S.M.J. (Editor) (2008). Enduring Geohazards In The Caribbean, Moving From The Reactive To The Proactive. University of the West Indies Press. Jamaica, West Indies. 256p. ISBN: 978-976-640-204-4.

Winner of the University of the West Indies Press for the ‘Best proposal in Environmental Studies, 2006. This award carried a cash prize and a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

Baban S.M.J. (Editor) (2009). Research, the Journey from Pondering to Publishing. University of the West Indies Press. Jamaica, West Indies. 264P. ISBN: 978-976-8125-90-3.

Baban S. M. J. (2014). Managing Geo-Based Challenges; World-Wide Case Studies and Sustainable Local Solutions. 230 pages. Environmental Science and Engineering series, Subseries: Environmental Science. Series Editors: Rod Allan, Ulrich Forstner and Wim Salomons. Springer International Publishing Switzerland, ISSN 1863 – 5520. ISBN: 978-3-319-07379-8.

Heshmati A., Dilani A., and Baban S. M. J. (Editors) (2012). Perspectives on Kurdistan’s Economy and Society in Transition, Vol. I. Nova Science Publishers, USA. 363P. (ISBN: 978-1-62257-934-1).

Baban S. M. J. (2014). Achieving Food and Water Sufficiency and Security for Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Kurdistan Regional Government Printers. Erbil, Kurdistan Regional Government, May 2014 264 pages. Catalogue Record in the General Directorate of Public Libraries, Ministry of Culture and Youth, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq: 1 – 2014.

Heshmati A., Dilani A. And Baban S. M. J. (Editors) (2013). Perspectives on Kurdistan’s Economy and Society in Transition, Volume II. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (ISBN (10): 1-4438-4836-0, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-4836-7).