Sustainable Drylands Management

This fact sheet by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines strategies for securing water resources and adapting to climate change in dryland communities. It highlights the vulnerability of these regions to desertification and climate change, and provides two case studies from India and Sudan that demonstrate how community-led ecosystem management and restoration can build resilience against drought and environmental degradation.

• Drylands cover nearly 40 per cent of the global land area and are home to more than two billion people across approximately 100 countries. These regions are characterized by limited water supply, variable rainfall, and recurrent drought, with desertification already affecting 70 per cent of the world's drylands due to unsustainable land use and ineffective governance.
• Climate change is expected to worsen dryland degradation by increasing temperatures, creating drier conditions, and causing rainfall events to become shorter and more intense.
• In Maharashtra, India, the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) has implemented watershed regeneration across over 150 watersheds, covering 160,000 hectares and benefiting more than 230,000 people. The program uses micro-catchment activities such as building hydraulic structures for water harvesting, planting trees and grasses, and establishing Village Self-Help Groups.
• Specific watershed projects in India showed significant environmental and economic gains. In the Darewadi watershed (1996-2001), the groundwater table rose three metres, fodder availability increased 170 per cent, and milk production rose over 1,500 per cent. In the Sherikoldara watershed (1994-2000), perennial wells grew by 300 per cent and milk production increased 1,250 per cent.
• In the Bara Province of Sudan, the Community-Based Rangeland Rehabilitation (CBRR) project, funded by UNDPs Global Environmental Facility, improved over 700 hectares of rangeland, exceeding its original 100-hectare goal. Key achievements included the stabilization of five km of sand dunes, the construction of 195 km of windbreaks, and the replacement of goat herds with more resilient sheep.
• Successful resilience-building in drylands requires several enabling conditions: understanding local vulnerabilities, community-driven implementation, strong participation of women, local capacity building, blending traditional and modern knowledge, and reconciling immediate short-term needs with long-term ecological goals.

APA

Lobo, C. (2003). Sustainable Drylands Management. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_3.pdf

Chicago

Lobo, Crispino. Sustainable Drylands Management. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lobo |first1=Crispino |title=Sustainable Drylands Management |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=3 December 2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lobo2003sustainable, author = {Lobo, Crispino}, title = {{Sustainable Drylands Management}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_livelihoods_3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }