DRYLANDS, PEOPLE, AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

The report provides a geospatial analysis of the world's drylands, which cover approximately 40 percent of the global land area and support over two billion people. It evaluates the provision of ecosystem services including forage for livestock, food production, biodiversity conservation, freshwater, carbon storage, and energy. The analysis highlights that while drylands are often perceived as unproductive, they are critical for human survival, though they face significant threats from soil degradation, water scarcity, and human activities such as overgrazing and urbanization.

• Drylands cover approximately 40 percent of the global land area, excluding Greenland and Antarctica, totaling about 54 million km2. These areas are divided into arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid zones based on the ratio of mean annual precipitation to mean annual potential evapotranspiration.
• Over two billion people live in drylands, representing nearly 40 percent of the world's population. Asia has the largest dryland population, with over 1.4 billion people, or 42 percent of the region's population.
• Soil degradation is widespread in drylands, with approximately 20 percent of dryland soils globally being degraded. Asia and Africa are the most affected regions, with 370 million hectares and 319 million hectares of degraded dryland, respectively.
• Drylands are essential for livestock production, particularly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. High livestock densities (greater than 40 TLUs per square kilometer) are specifically noted in India, Pakistan, eastern China, the Sahel, Turkey, and southeastern South America.
• Food production in predominantly dryland countries is characterized by below-average cereal crop yields and high variability in domestic production compared to regional averages. For example, Botswana and Namibia had cereal yields of less than 350 kilograms per hectare between 1999 and 2001.
• Drylands contain significant biodiversity hotspots, including 42 Centers of Plant Diversity and approximately 60 Endemic Bird Areas. South America and Australia are identified as the regions best represented by these conservation areas and protected areas.
• Freshwater resources in drylands are limited, and projections for 2025 suggest that half of the 42 major dryland watersheds will experience water shortages. Specifically, 7 are projected to be water stressed and 14 are projected to be water scarce.
• Carbon storage in drylands occurs predominantly in the soil rather than in vegetation. While drylands store less carbon per unit area than forests, their extensive global area makes their total carbon storage potentially significant.
• Energy resources in drylands vary by region; Sub-Saharan African drylands rely heavily on biomass fuels, while the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia are major producers of mineral fuels like crude oil and natural gas.
• Human activities significantly impact drylands through agriculture, urbanization, and overgrazing. Global warming is predicted to increase potential evapotranspiration rates, which may make many drylands more arid in the coming century.

APA

White, R. P., & Nackoney, J. (2003). DRYLANDS, PEOPLE, AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/drylands.pdf

Chicago

White, Robin P., and Janet Nackoney. DRYLANDS, PEOPLE, AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES. World Resources Institute, 2003. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/drylands.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=White |first1=Robin P. |last2=Nackoney |first2=Janet |title=DRYLANDS, PEOPLE, AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=February 2003 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/drylands.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{white2003drylands, author = {White, Robin P. and Nackoney, Janet}, title = {{DRYLANDS, PEOPLE, AND ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2003}, month = feb, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/drylands.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }