These key aspects of dryland development strategies are intended to guide and stimulate sustainable agricultural and rural development in the drylands of the world, particularly in areas where people are poor and land is degraded. The aim of such strategies is to encourage forms of land use and resource utilization that are both sustainable and helpful in the short-term in alleviating poverty and arresting or reversing processes of land degradation.
Specifically, the presentation of these key aspects of dryland development strategies seeks to improve the effectiveness of development, by removing political and organizational constraints, providing a social and economic environment conducive to development, improving community participation and delivery systems, and providing the data and understanding necessary for effective development planning. There is emphasis on food crops and livestock production, and on other means of improving food security, but with attention also to resource management and to conserving the ecological and genetic diversity of remaining natural ecosystems.
Drylands are chosen for attention because of the low level of priority and inputs that these areas generally receive in relation to their size, population and need. In order to focus on the main areas of need, both commercial ranching and major irrigation schemes are not considered. This is not to imply that such enterprises are to be excluded from drylands development, but that opportunities for new schemes are limited and that requirements for their development are documented elsewhere. Indeed, the approach followed in this document assumes that development will be planned within a national framework that ensures complementary development between areas and enterprises. Certainly carefully planned irrigation schemes can contribute greatly to development in neighbouring drylands.
This document is intended for use by governments and international organizations, to guide and encourage them in the preparation of their strategies for drylands development. The target is principally developing countries, where the need is greatest, but other drylands are not excluded. Countries with diverse conditions may find it necessary to produce distinct though complementary regional strategies for different areas in order to reflect the specific development needs of different areas.