234
In arid and semiarid regions, natural climatic variations and anthropogenic disturbances lead to the deterioration of the ecosystem, and therefore have a strong
impact on water and soil-restoration cycles. These disruptions have considerable
effects on local societies with limited access to food that meets quality standards
and trigger disease and epidemic outbreaks, thereby undermining food security and
human health of a large population, respectively. Arid and semiarid lands make up
40% of the planet’s land surface and have in recent decades experienced a densification in human activity, as well as prolonged periods of drought and desertification
(Coppock et al. 2017). They are regulated by the complex interactions of biophysical, social, political, and economic factors emerging as a result of alteration, degradation, and loss of ecosystem services. The most recent climate model simulations,
based on contrasted representative concentration pathways (RCPs)—RCP 8.5 and
RCP 4.5—show that global climate change could cause dryland biomes to expand
by 11–23% by the end of the twenty-first century (Huang et al. 2015). If this occurs,
dryland biomes could cover more than half of the global land surface. Climate
change will lead to extended droughts, regional warming, and, combined with a
growing human population, an increased risk of land degradation and desertification
in the drylands (Bastin et al. 2017). Despite the problems afflicting these regions
both environmentally and socially, they are considered productive systems because
of the richness and diversity of their natural resources, and because they contribute
more than 40% of the world’s food output.
10
This confluence of risks clearly mandates the full attention of experts in understanding the mechanisms that govern climate change and its impacts on both the environment and society at the local,
regional and global scales.
Once the challenges are defined and the need for action identified, the next stage
will involve the implementation of proposed solutions. Governments of countries
involved in this transatlantic framework are persuaded to pledge their engagement,
but cannot act alone. Challenges into the transatlantic region often are interdependent and their dynamics complex, yet many research and global-assessment programs are managed separately, a symptom of a lack of coordination in the policy
sphere. Governments, civil society, and the private sector need to consider how to
integrate the many disparate global challenge frameworks in order to coordinate
research efforts, thereby maximizing coherence and minimizing repetition. Good
governance, empowerment, and accountability will be essential to these international collaborative frameworks, and governance schemes should be flexible and
support innovation and risk-taking in research (Table 14.1).
10 CGIAR research program on Dryland system: http://drylandsystems.cgiar.org.
A. Rizzo et al.
In arid and semiarid regions, natural climatic variations and anthropogenic disturbances lead to the deterioration of the ecosystem, and therefore have a strong
impact on water and soil-restoration cycles. These disruptions have considerable
effects on local societies with limited access to food that meets quality standards
and trigger disease and epidemic outbreaks, thereby undermining food security and
human health of a large population, respectively. Arid and semiarid lands make up
40% of the planet’s land surface and have in recent decades experienced a densification in human activity, as well as prolonged periods of drought and desertification
(Coppock et al. 2017). They are regulated by the complex interactions of biophysical, social, political, and economic factors emerging as a result of alteration, degradation, and loss of ecosystem services. The most recent climate model simulations,
based on contrasted representative concentration pathways (RCPs)—RCP 8.5 and
RCP 4.5—show that global climate change could cause dryland biomes to expand
by 11–23% by the end of the twenty-first century (Huang et al. 2015). If this occurs,
dryland biomes could cover more than half of the global land surface. Climate
change will lead to extended droughts, regional warming, and, combined with a
growing human population, an increased risk of land degradation and desertification
in the drylands (Bastin et al. 2017). Despite the problems afflicting these regions
both environmentally and socially, they are considered productive systems because
of the richness and diversity of their natural resources, and because they contribute
more than 40% of the world’s food output.
10
This confluence of risks clearly mandates the full attention of experts in understanding the mechanisms that govern climate change and its impacts on both the environment and society at the local,
regional and global scales.
Once the challenges are defined and the need for action identified, the next stage
will involve the implementation of proposed solutions. Governments of countries
involved in this transatlantic framework are persuaded to pledge their engagement,
but cannot act alone. Challenges into the transatlantic region often are interdependent and their dynamics complex, yet many research and global-assessment programs are managed separately, a symptom of a lack of coordination in the policy
sphere. Governments, civil society, and the private sector need to consider how to
integrate the many disparate global challenge frameworks in order to coordinate
research efforts, thereby maximizing coherence and minimizing repetition. Good
governance, empowerment, and accountability will be essential to these international collaborative frameworks, and governance schemes should be flexible and
support innovation and risk-taking in research (Table 14.1).
10 CGIAR research program on Dryland system: http://drylandsystems.cgiar.org.
A. Rizzo et al.