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Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts. The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
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The Future of Drylands International Scientific Conference on Desertification and Drylands Research Tunis, Tunisia, 19-21 June 2006 Cathy Lee • Thomas Schaaf Editors The Future of Drylands International Scientific Conference on Desertification and Drylands Research Tunis, Tunisia, 19-21 June 2006 UNESCO Publishing Cathy Lee Thomas Schaaf Published jointly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 7, place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris, France and Springer SBM, Van Godewijckstraat 30, PO Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. UNESCO 978-92-3-104052-8 Springer 978-1-4020-6969-7 e-ISBN Springer 978-1-4020-6970-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008931012 © UNESCO 2008 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from UNESCO, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com Preface The year 2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification” by the United Nations General Assembly. Concerned by the exacerbation of desertification and its far-reaching implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular on poverty eradication, the year aimed at raising public awareness as well as protecting indigenous and local communities and the traditional knowledge of those affected by this phenomenon. The Year also aimed to protect the unique biological diversity of deserts. Home to an estimated two billion people and widespread poverty, the world’s drylands also host a surprising wealth of biodiversity – many of the plant, animal and fungal species are remarkable in their adaptation to the harsh climatic conditions prevailing in the drylands. Nomadic and pastoral groups have developed a