The Drylands Coordination Group works on different themes regarding dryland areas as part of its mandate to contribute to improved food security of vulnerable households and sustainable natural resource management in the drylands of Africa. DCG's activities are regrouped under the following themes: agriculture, food security, pastoralism, water, and the UNCCD. Before looking at these themes more in detail and DCG's related work, an explanation of drylands is required. People forced to live in marginal areas where land is ecologically fragile are stuck in a cycle of land degradation and face threats to the survival of their livelihood.
What are drylands?
"Drylands" is the common name for arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid ecosystems that are characterized by low and irregular rainfall and high evapo-transpiration, and are subject to cyclical droughts. These warm arid and semi-arid tropics cover enormous areas such as 1,246 million hectares in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drylands occur in some 100 countries containing nearly 40% of the earth's population. 54% of the world’s productive land is drylands and 61% of Africa’s productive land is drylands. Even though Asia and Latin America are also affected by desertification, Africa is under the greatest threat of land degradation.
The degradation of drylands is often referred to as "desertification". According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), desertification is defined as "land degradation resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities". Man-made causes of desertification may include deforestation, unsustainable agriculture (poorly drained irrigation), and excessive land use (overgrazing, overcultivation).
Such unsustainable resource management practices are often induced by the disruption of social systems, the under-valuation of traditional knowledge, inappropriate government policies, weak institutions, increasing population pressure and poverty. Natural climate variations can also affect drought-prone areas and the long-term effects of climate change may worsen already critical areas. Land degradation and drought are a substantial threat to the welfare of rural populations in many countries.
To address the problem of increasing desertification and its worldwide effects, the topic underwent serious consideration at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. After continued negotiations resulting from Rio, the UNCCD was adopted for signature in 1994 and entered into force in 1996. Some 172 countries are currently Parties to the Convention.
(Sources: UNCCD, UNSO, IFAD)
