Linking adaptation and development in drylands: constraints and opportunities

ABRAHAM E.

Fortaleza

Conferencia; ?Adaptation Futures 2014: Third International Climate Change Adaptation Conference?; 2014

Dryland ecosystems provide a wide array of goods and services and support flora, fauna, and people in important and often unique ways. Investments in developing and enhancing these goods and services can do much to raise the support for dryland populations and lead to improved lifestyles and poverty alleviation. For decades, national and international policy makers have been concerned that drylands are at risk of irreversible degradation, desertification: the loss of their long-term capacity to supply goods and services to human populations. Desertification in drylands would exacerbate the conditions of poverty and threaten the livelihoods of those most dependent on natural resources. These people are frequently among the poorest in the world. Unfortunately, policies thus far have not been as effective as possible, solely focused in their attempts to address poverty and inequity issues in drylands. Dryland assessment and management initiatives to date have failed to generate adequate interest and funding, largely because investors, development agencies, and the public have an incomplete understanding of the full range of valuable goods and services that drylands have to offer. Support for programs in drylands has the potential to grow significantly if more attention is called to their diverse production capacities, while simultaneously incorporating the optimization of dryland resource use, focusing on food security and empowering the participation of the local population into the program?s objectives and actions.