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Dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral systems 

COP31: Upscaling country-led dryland solutions across the Rio Conventions through the Dryland Forest Support Accelerator (DFSA)
09/11/2026
The special event, Thriving Drylands: Scaling Country Solutions at the Climate, Land and Biodiversity Interface through Rio Synergies, was co-organized by Türkiye (UNFCCC COP31 Presidency) and FAO and brought together high-level representatives, technical experts and partners to examine how practical solutions can contribute simultaneously to climate action, biodiversity conservation, land restoration and resilient livelihoods.
WeCaN members in climate diplomacy: Building skills, raising voices at COP 30
30/11/2025
As the world intensifies efforts to address the climate crisis, one truth stands out: women, especially those from climate-vulnerable regions, must be central to decision-making processes. Strenghtening women’s leadership in global climate governance is not only a matter of fairness; it is essential for shaping solutions that work for all.
New report identifies key learning needs for a successful Great Green Wall implementation
11/12/2024

The « Knowledge for Great Green Wall Action (K4GGWA) » project supports the implementation of the Great Green Wall (GGW) in combating desertification, restoring degraded land, and improving livelihoods across the Sahara and Sahel. 

Science, Technology and Innovations in support of the implementation of the Great Green Wall
04/10/2024
This Special Edition No. 2 of the Echoes of the Great Green Wall is devoted to the state of progress in key areas and concrete scientific, technological and innovative contributions in support of implementation and delivery of actions towards achieving the GGW objectives. The publication shares and disseminates knowledge including research results, effective and efficient innovations, successful approaches and technical itineraries and offers options for scaling up.
Advanced regional training on Collect Earth and biophysical data collections on the Great Green Wall and the Sahel
23/09/2024
As part of its support to member countries and institutions for the implementation of the Great Green Wall (GGW), FAO’s Action Against Desertification (AAD) convenes an advanced training on Collect Earth and biophysical data collections in the GGW and the Sahel. More than 30 experts from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal met on 23-27 September 2024 in Bamako, to advance the review and assessment of over 78,000 sample plots, contributing to FAO's continued efforts to monitor land restoration and land use change in Africa and in the GGW.
FAO presents large-scale restoration success in Senegal to wider Great Green Wall stakeholders
13/09/2024
FAO, CIFOR-ICRAF, Great Green Wall (GGW) institutions and partners convened for a Second Week on GGW in Senegal, as part of the EU-funded Knowledge for Great Green Wall Action (K4GGWA) project. The event brought together more than 50 stakeholders and partners from GGW national entities (focal points and monitoring representatives) and the Panafrican Agency of GGW, as well as civil society representatives and networks, private sector actors and entrepreneurs, international organizations, NGOs and financial partners.
FAO and other international partners set to launch 2nd Drylands Summer School in Kenya
08/05/2024
Sharing a common vision over rangelands, FAO and several key partners have promoted the celebration of the Second Drylands Summer School, aiming to build resilient drylands by training experts to...
From Dubai to the world: WeCaN member's impactful journey through UNFCCC COP28
22/12/2023
Significant progress was made during COP28, but the pace of improvement on the gender balance front remained slow. In fact, unfortunately, only 38 percent of party delegations were women –...
MEV-CAM announces new Toolkit on Participatory Video
28/11/2023
The "Making Every Voice Count for Adaptive Management" (MEV-CAM) Initiative was created in 2020 and alters the way South-South knowledge management is approached by using local and indigenous knowledge to...
FAO provides insights at CRIC 21 on achieving land degradation neutrality
21/11/2023
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) co-organized a series of side-events on the margins of the Twenty-First session of the Committee for the Review of the...
FAO-JP GTA training explores gender and climate change in agricultural value chains
16/11/2023
The JP GTA collaborated with FAO’s Gender Team and the WeCaN community of Knowledge Practice for the Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP) to build the capacity of...
South-South cooperation between Iran and China enhances dryland forest rehabilitation
25/10/2023
The Islamic Republic of Iran's National Resource and Watershed Organization (NRWO) has just concluded a dynamic week-long study tour to China, returning with invaluable insights and a fervent commitment to...
First Drylands Summer School ignites global collaboration in combatting dryland challenges
26/09/2023
The inaugural Drylands Summer School, organized by the Committee on Forestry Working Group (COFO WG) in partnership with prestigious institutions worldwide, brought together participants from across the world to address...
Looking for good practices? Look no further than MEV-CAM’s new Knowledge Bank!
20/06/2023
MEV-CAM has launched its long-awaited Knowledge Bank, a database of good practices on sustainable land management and restoration documented by communities taking part in the initiative. The Knowledge Bank is free...
Five key outputs from WeCaN’s first Global Gathering
30/05/2023
The WeCaN initiative held its first Global Gathering from 24 - 26 May, bringing together 20 members from across the world to meet in person for the first time. The...
Drylands matter – Experts unite to accelerate a trailblazing Global Environment Facility impact program to transform Dryland landscapes in harmony with its people and nature
27/05/2023
The Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program (DSL-IP), led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and financed with support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), organized...
MEV-CAM reaches Latin America!
03/04/2023
The FAO Dryland team’s MEV-CAM initiative kicked off its expansion into Latin America with a four-day training course on process documentation methods, its first-ever workshop held virtually. Eleven participants from six...
FAO launches first e-Learning course to transform dryland management
29/03/2023
FAO has launched a new e-learning course that will inspire practitioners to champion transformational dryland forest management strategies, spearheaded by the Committee on Forestry’s Working Group on Dryland Forests and...
Two promising cases of digital entrepreneurship empowering women in the forest sector
10/03/2023
Traditionally women play a vital role in the forest sector, often carrying out the lion’s share of foraging for food in forests and firewood collection. Now, women entrepreneurs are using...
COFO Working Group and International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 collaborate on new Drylands Summer School
20/02/2023
The Committee on Forestry (COFO) Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems (WG) has announced the dates of the first Drylands Summer School, in collaboration with the International Year...
©FAO/RaissaMaldonadoDeAlmeida
Call to Action on Dryland Forests: Mobilising Partnerships and Support Through a Dedicated Accelerator
02/10/2026

Dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral systems sustain the livelihoods, food security, and resilience of over two billion people, while delivering vital services for biodiversity, climate adaptation, land restoration, and sustainable food systems. Yet their contributions remain overlooked, and investment in their sustainable management and restoration falls critically short. The Call to Action on Dryland Forests sets out a shared agenda to bridge this gap.

Twelve misconceptions about agrosilvopastoral systems – and how to overcome them
14/08/2026

Agrosilvopastoral systems can contribute to food security, resilient livelihoods, biodiversity, climate adaptation and sustainable land management. Yet they are often reduced to simplified practice, such as grazing under trees or adding trees to livestock and farming landscapes; this brochure examines 12 common misconceptions about agrosilvopastoral systems and explains how evidence, policy and practice can overcome them

Advancing women's leadership in dryland regions through the three Rs: rights, representation and resources
30/10/2024

This WeCaN Nurturing Community of Knowledge Practice for Women policy brief focuses on advancing women's leadership in dryland regions through the three Rs: rights, representation and resources. It includes useful case studies collected from WeCaN members across many dryland areas, showcasing the benefits of strong women leadership on environments and communities.

Applying MEV-CAM tools: participatory video
30/01/2024

The Making Every Voice Count for Adaptive Management (MEV-CAM) toolkit provides process documentation facilitators with instruments for documenting change through participatory video to generate knowledge, monitor impact, and share practices.

Compost as solid waste management in Jordan
30/11/2023

This document aims to show the impact of good practices on local communities, from their own perspective.

Live fencing in Uganda
30/05/2023

This good practice, focusing on live fencing, comes from local communities in Uganda and provides a guide to restoring local ecosystems and farms through natural fencing methods.

Gabion baskets: A simple solution to a big problem
30/05/2023

This best practice, focusing on gabion baskets, comes from local communities in Malawi and provides a guide to the use of gabion baskets to improve landscape resilience.

From charcoal to honey in Malawi
30/05/2023

This best practice, focusing on beekeeping, comes from local communities in Malawi and provides a guide to implementing beekeeping as an alternative livelihood.

Farmer managed natural regeneration in Uganda
30/05/2023

This good practice, focusing on farmer managed natural regeneration, comes from local communities in Uganda and provides a guide to restoring local ecosystems through natural planting methods.

Theatre for development to engage local communities
30/04/2023

This best practice focuses on the use of Theatre for Development with local communities in Malawi.

Regenerative grazing for climate, ecosystem, and human health
30/11/2022

With regenerative grazing management, that is, the right management of livestock and wildlife for the right context, land degradation can be reversed, leading not only to a rapid regain of ecoystem function but to greater revenue for the women, men and youth drawing their livelihoods from these landscapes. This paper explores agroforestry, regenerative grazing management and silvopastoral systems.

Grazing with trees - A silvopastoral approach to managing and restoring drylands with trees: Policy brief
30/11/2022

The Grazing with trees policy brief accompanies the Grazing with Trees publication, giving an overview of the positive role that optimized extensive grazing livestock farming can play in the management and restoration of drylands’ forests and lands. Trees in dryland forests and wooded areas provide key ecosystem services such as animal feed, timber, fruits and, regulation of soil and water cycles.

A turning point for drought management: upscaling the silvopastoral approach
15/11/2022

This white paper provides useful background for the GLF Climate Digital Conference: A turning point for drought management: Upscaling the silvopastoral approach in the Near East North Africa (NENA) region....

Grazing with trees - A silvopastoral approach to managing and restoring drylands
30/09/2022

The ‘Grazing with Trees’ report gives a thorough assessment of the positive role that optimized extensive grazing livestock farming can play in the management and restoration of drylands’ forests and lands with trees. It assesses and provides sound evidence on the benefits of applying an integrated landscape approach and utilizing farmers and pastoralists’ knowledge to halt desertification, increase resilience, and enhance food security under the actual changing scenario.

Doing no harm while doing good - Climate and conflict sensitivity in dryland humanitarian projects. Policy brief
30/08/2022

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus recognizes conflict as a threat multiplier to climate change and seeks to integrate conflict sensitivity into policies and actions around natural resources. Competition for natural resources in dryland areas often leads to conflict between host communities and displaced people.

Valuing, restoring and managing “presumed drylands”: Cerrado, Miombo–Mopane woodlands and the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
26/05/2022

The study "Valuing, restoring and managing presumed drylands: Cerrado, Miombo–Mopane woodlands and the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau" confirms the existence of 1 075 million hectares of presumed drylands that are under threat...

Deploying a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach: Exploring, strengthening and reviving dryland ecosystems
18/10/2021

The FAO-CARE- CGIAR joint technical working paper will contribute to developing an FAO position and improved understanding of the links between, and risks of, climate change and various kinds of conflict as related to FAO’s mandate, with particular attention to crisis contexts in dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral areas. More broadly, this will feed into UN system-level discussion and processes related to the multidimensional nature of Climate Security.

Building climate-resilient dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral production systems: An approach for context-dependent economic, social and environmentally sustainable transformations
30/03/2021

With climate change impacts already felt in the world’s drylands, there is an urgent need for action, at various scales and initiated by different stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of food production and livelihoods in these regions in the coming decades. There is also the need to rapidly establish baselines, assess and start monitoring progress on sustainability, emerging as result of the action taken.

Blooming drylands – a practical approach for context-dependent economic, social and environmentally sustainable transformations
19/03/2021

This policy brief is intended to inform decision-makers of nine transformational actions to sustain dryland production systems under the impact of climate change. It highlights the relevance of the local...

Trees, forests and land use in drylands - The first global assessment. Full reposrt
05/12/2019

Drylands cover 41 percent of the Earth's land surface. This publication presents the results of the first global assessment of trees, forests and land use in these lands. The assessment...

4th Drylands Global School

Kasane (Botswana), 01/02/2027 - 05/02/2027

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4th Drylands Global School

1–5 February 2027 | Kasane, Botswana

Integrated Fire Management for resilient dryland landscapes

The fourth Drylands Global School will bring together practitioners, policymakers, researchers, local and traditional knowledge holders and other experts from around the world to strengthen knowledge and capacities on Integrated Fire Management (IFM) in dryland landscapes.

Hosted in Kasane, Botswana, the School will combine technical learning, peer exchange and field-based experience to explore how fire management can support resilient ecosystems, sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. The programme will draw on the distinctive experience of the Chobe landscape and the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA).

Why fire management matters in drylands

Fire is both a natural ecological process and a socio-economic issue in many dryland landscapes. It influences vegetation dynamics, biodiversity, soils, carbon cycles, livestock production systems and ecosystem resilience.

Climate change, land-use change, grazing patterns and other human activities are altering fire regimes, contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires, changing fire seasons and increasing risks for communities.

Integrated Fire Management moves beyond fire suppression alone. It brings together five interconnected elements:

  • review and analysis;
  • risk reduction;
  • readiness;
  • response; and
  • recovery.

Together, these elements aim to reduce risk and damage while sustaining resilient ecosystems and livelihoods.

Objectives

The School aims to strengthen understanding and practical capacity around Integrated Fire Management, local and traditional knowledge systems and community-based approaches to fire management.

Participants will:

  • strengthen technical knowledge and practical skills in IFM in dryland ecosystems;
  • improve understanding of fire ecology, changing fire regimes and the links between fire, climate, vegetation, biodiversity and livelihoods;
  • exchange experiences, innovations and lessons across regions and sectors;
  • explore how local and traditional fire stewardship and community-based fire management can be integrated into IFM approaches;
  • strengthen capacity to design landscape-scale fire management strategies adapted to local contexts;
  • learn from institutionalized national practices on IFM; and
  • build professional networks and partnerships supporting sustainable fire management and dryland resilience.

Learning programme

The School will be organized around six interconnected learning modules.

1. Ecology and dynamics of dryland fire

Understanding fire in dryland ecosystems, including open forests, rangelands and agrosilvopastoral systems.

2. Integrated Fire Management in drylands

Exploring the principles and operational dimensions of IFM, from risk reduction and preparedness to response and recovery, with particular attention to participatory fire risk assessment.

3. Communities, governance and local and traditional knowledge

Examining community-based fire stewardship, governance arrangements and collaboration among communities, scientific institutions and public authorities.

4. Gender-responsive Integrated Fire Management

Exploring the role of women as knowledge holders, natural resource managers and decision-makers, and how gender-responsive approaches can strengthen fire governance and reduce vulnerability.

5. Fire adaptation

Examining the relationship between climate change and wildfire and how IFM can support adaptation, including through community-based practices and silvopastoral approaches.

6. Fire, livelihoods and resilient landscapes

Connecting fire management with broader dryland landscape and livelihood systems through dialogue and exchange around common management challenges.

Field learning in Botswana

Field learning will be a central component of the School.

The Kasane landscape will provide participants with opportunities to observe the relationships between:

  • fire management;
  • biodiversity conservation;
  • wildlife management;
  • tourism;
  • rangelands; and
  • local livelihoods.

The Botswana edition will also showcase practical experience from the Kavango–Zambezi landscape and demonstrate how Integrated Fire Management can contribute to ecosystem resilience, sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation.

Expected outcomes

By the end of the School, participants are expected to have:

  • enhanced technical and operational capacity in Integrated Fire Management;
  • a stronger understanding of IFM challenges and opportunities in drylands;
  • greater recognition of local and traditional knowledge in fire governance and prevention;
  • improved capacity to apply gender-responsive approaches;
  • greater ability to integrate ecological, social and institutional dimensions of fire management;
  • practical insights into landscape-scale approaches to fire risk management;
  • stronger capacity to develop participatory and community-based fire plans; and
  • expanded professional networks for collaboration across regions and sectors.

The School will also strengthen peer-to-peer exchange and multistakeholder dialogue among governments, practitioners, researchers, community representatives and international organizations working towards resilient, fire-adapted dryland landscapes.

Participants

The School is designed for approximately 35–40 participants from around the world.

Target participants include:

  • dryland experts and practitioners;
  • local and traditional knowledge holders;
  • pastoralists;
  • fire management practitioners;
  • project managers;
  • community leaders;
  • policymakers; and
  • other professionals with relevant experience or demonstrated interest in IFM in dryland areas.

Participant selection will aim to ensure diversity across background, age, gender, geography, experience and capacities. Places will be filled through nominations by partner organizations and an open call.

Pre-course requirements

Selected participants will be required to complete two FAO e-learning courses before attending the School:

  • Transforming dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral systems; and
  • Basic Integrated Fire Management tools for early warning and decision-making.

Participants will also prepare a short case study from their own work on Integrated or Community-Based Fire Management. A case study template will be provided following selection.

Organizers and partners

The 4th Drylands Global School is jointly organized by:

  • the FAO Committee on Forestry Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems;
  • the Global Fire Management Hub; and
  • the Dryland Sustainable Landscapes Impact Programme (DSL-IP).

The School is hosted by the Government of Botswana and supported by the FAO Country Office in Botswana.

Related links

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