Dryland Opportunities A new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development International Institute for Environment and Development Dryland Opportunities A new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development About IUCN IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org About IIED The International Institute for Environment and Development has been a world leader in the field of sustainable development since 1971. As an independent policy research organisation, IIED works with partners on five continents to tackle key global issues — climate change, urbanisation, the pressures on natural resources and the forces shaping global markets. www.iied.org About UNDP UNDP Drylands Development Centre is part of the United Nations Development Programme. It is a unique global thematic centre that provides technical expertise, practical policy advice and programme support for poverty reduction and development in the drylands of the world. The Centre’s work bridges between global policy issues and on-the-ground activities, and helps governments to establish and institutionalize the link between grassroots development activities and pro-poor policy reform. The main areas of focus are mainstreaming of drylands issues into national development frameworks; land governance; marking markets work for the poor; decen- tralized governance of natural resources; and drought risk management. www.undp.org/drylands The Global Drylands Imperative The Global Drylands Imperative (GDI) is a collaboration of organizations involved in drylands development. GDI includes the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNDP/GEF – Global Environment Facility, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Near East Foundation. Dryland Opportunities A new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development Michael Mortimore With contributions from: Simon Anderson, Lorenzo Cotula, Jonathan Davies, Kristy Faccer, Ced Hesse, John Morton, Wilfrid Nyangena, Jamie Skinner, and Caterina Wolfangel iii The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, IIED and UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, IIED and UNDP. This publication has been made possible in part by funding from the US Department of State Voluntary Contribution to IUCN. Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, IIED, London, UK and UNDP, New York, USA Copyright: © 2009 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Mortimore, M. with contributions from S. Anderson, L. Cotula, J. Davies, K. Faccer, C. Hesse, J. Morton, W. Nyangena, J. Skinner, and C. Wolfangel (2009). Dryland Opportunities: A new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland; IIED, London, UK and UNDP/DDC, Nairobi, Kenya. x + 86p. ISBN: 978-2-8317-1183-6 Cover photo: IUCN Photo Library/Danièle Perrot-Maître Layout: Gordon Arara (Publications Unit, Nairobi) Printed by: NEUHAUS SA; Buenos Aires, Argentina Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Publications Services Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland Switzerland Tel +41 22 999 0000 Fax +41 22 999 0020 [email protected] www.iucn.org/publications A catalogue of IUCN publications is also available. iv CONTENTS Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ viii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ix Acronyms .......................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 Drylands in a changing world ................................................................................. 1 Drylands matter .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Changing drylands, a changing world .................................................................................................................. 4 Knowledge in dryland development .................................................................................................................... 6 Key findings .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2 A new paradigm of dryland development ............................................................ 10 The desertification paradigm ............................................................................................................................. 10 Drylands seen from space................................................................................................................................... 12 The resilience paradigm .....................................................................................................................................14 Conclusion: reversing the priorities ...................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 3 Adapting to climate risk and change .................................................................... 20 Adapting to climate risk in the past ...................................................................................................................20 Adapting to climate change in the future ..........................................................................................................23 Potential impacts in Africa .................................................................................................................................23 The adaptive challenge .......................................................................................................................................24 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 4 Realising the true value of ecosystem services ................................................... 27 Provisioning services: crop production ..............................................................................................................28 Provisioning services: livestock ..........................................................................................................................29 Provisioning services: trees, energy and NTFPs ................................................................................................30 Supporting services ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Regulating services ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Cultural services: tourism ...................................................................................................................................36 Re-evaluating ecosystem management ..............................................................................................................40 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 5 Investing in drylands .............................................................................................. 42 Landscape investments .......................................................................................................................................42 Public investments .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Livestock investments ......................................................................................................................................... 44 Investing