About

Today 70% of the victims of serious and permanent undernourishment - an estimated 600 million people - live in semi-arid and arid ecosystems or “drylands”. Examples of drylands are deserts, grasslands and savannahs, which currently cover 41% of the global land area.

 

Natural resources, cultivation and livestock-rearing remain centrally important to the economies and livelihoods of the majority of people who live in drylands. In most countries with drylands these activities account for 30–50% of the Gross Domestic Product and are a major source of income and livelihood for 70–80% of the population.

 

Healthy ecosystems, land and natural resources are therefore critical for dryland populations. However, some 70% of the world’s drylands are affected by degradation. Countering dryland degradation or ‘desertification’ makes a considerable contribution to poverty alleviation and the eradication of hunger world-wide.

 

In order to contribute to countering dryland degradation, 14 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from all over the world joined forces in 2007 in a programme called Drynet. To effectively counter degradation, local organisations and communities living in drylands should be at the heart of the effort. Unfortunately, their involvement in the national and international arenas of decision-making is often very low-key. By directly reaching out to local groups, Drynet intends to redress the current imbalance.

 

Drynet is a three-year networking and capacity building initiative that aims to strengthen the voices of local dryland communities through their organisations. It is financed by the European Union, the Global Mechanism and the project partners themselves. By involving civil society groups in local and national development and planning processes Drynet builds a foundation for civil society across the world to strengthen its position in the struggle to sustainably manage drylands.

 

Drynet currently is:

Both ENDS Netherlands, CAREC Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan/ Turkmenistan, CARI France, CENESTA Iran, EMG South Africa, ENDA TM Senegal/Madagascar/Morocco, Instituto Sertão/ASA network Brazil, LPP Germany, LPPS India, OLCA Chile, PROBIOMA Bolivia, TENMIYA Mauritania, SCOPE Pakistan, TEMA Turkey. See “Project Partners” for more information on the partners.