8
desertification and to identify their underlying causes (Reynolds and Stafford Smith
2002; Reed and Stringer 2016; Reed et al. 2011; Behnke and Mortimore 2016; Davis
2016a, b), or measuring how much land loss has occurred (Huaico Malhue et al.
2018), the UN is targeting a land degradation neutral world by 2030 as one of the
sustainable development goals (Chasek et al. 2015; Safriel 2017; Cowie et al. 2018),
highlighting new challenges and opportunities (Stavi and Lal 2015; Akhtar-Schuster
et al. 2017) and ignoring potential pitfalls (Easdale 2016; Okpara et al. 2018).
Undoubtedly however, climate change may have contrasting impacts at the regional
scale and thereby interact with human effects on land degradation, either by causing
mega-droughts reducing vegetation cover and thereby exacerbate land degradation or
by enhanced precipitation leading to some re- greening of drylands (for example, in
the Sahel, Herrmann and Sop 2016; Behnke and Mortimore 2016).
Despite global awareness of and attention to desertification, success stories about
its combating and/or developing the world’s drylands are surprisingly scarce (for
exception, see Reid et al. 2014). Thus, leading us to question why re- and afforestation projects have failed and have, at times, negatively affected biodiversity, as well
as the hydrological and biogeochemical cycles of drylands (Amdan et al. 2013).
Both irrigated and rain-fed agricultural schemes in drylands have overall rendered
low crop yields and increased soil salinization and land degradation (Southgate
1990; Lambin et al. 2001), while rangeland management programs appear to have
had little or no effects on improving land degradation (Dregne and Chou 1992).
Conversely, regions formerly claimed to be notoriously and presumably irreversibly
degraded by overgrazing have recovered after the end of long drought periods
(Donohue et al. 2013; Dardel et al. 2014). In the wake of an accelerated rate of
global socio-environmental change (Steffen et al. 2015), it is useful to question
whether drylands are doomed to be physically degraded and desertified by humans
(Reynolds and Stafford Smith 2002), or whether they instead present an opportunity
for sustainable development (Reynolds et al. 2007; Mortimore et al. 2009; Krätli
2015; Behnke and Mortimore 2016).
Dryland Socio-Ecological Systems Are Complex Systems
Socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems where the relationships
between humans and nature are based on interconnections among system components, whose interlinkages and dynamics create emerging properties with synergistic effects (Berkes et al. 2008; Koontz et al. 2015; Biesbroek et al. 2017; Tàbara
et al. 2018). All complex systems have their inherent quantitative measures such as
structure, dynamics, evolution, development, and complexity (Bar-Yam 1997;
García 2006). Physical, biological, social, cultural, economic, and political components interact and provide feedback at different rates and intensities across different
spatial and temporal scales, thus, they undergo non-linear, unpredictable changes
and self-organize after disturbance events (Liu et al. 2007).
Understanding the connectedness between humans and nature necessarily
requires inter- and transdisciplinary efforts and frameworks, including scholarly
E. Huber-Sannwald et al.
desertification and to identify their underlying causes (Reynolds and Stafford Smith
2002; Reed and Stringer 2016; Reed et al. 2011; Behnke and Mortimore 2016; Davis
2016a, b), or measuring how much land loss has occurred (Huaico Malhue et al.
2018), the UN is targeting a land degradation neutral world by 2030 as one of the
sustainable development goals (Chasek et al. 2015; Safriel 2017; Cowie et al. 2018),
highlighting new challenges and opportunities (Stavi and Lal 2015; Akhtar-Schuster
et al. 2017) and ignoring potential pitfalls (Easdale 2016; Okpara et al. 2018).
Undoubtedly however, climate change may have contrasting impacts at the regional
scale and thereby interact with human effects on land degradation, either by causing
mega-droughts reducing vegetation cover and thereby exacerbate land degradation or
by enhanced precipitation leading to some re- greening of drylands (for example, in
the Sahel, Herrmann and Sop 2016; Behnke and Mortimore 2016).
Despite global awareness of and attention to desertification, success stories about
its combating and/or developing the world’s drylands are surprisingly scarce (for
exception, see Reid et al. 2014). Thus, leading us to question why re- and afforestation projects have failed and have, at times, negatively affected biodiversity, as well
as the hydrological and biogeochemical cycles of drylands (Amdan et al. 2013).
Both irrigated and rain-fed agricultural schemes in drylands have overall rendered
low crop yields and increased soil salinization and land degradation (Southgate
1990; Lambin et al. 2001), while rangeland management programs appear to have
had little or no effects on improving land degradation (Dregne and Chou 1992).
Conversely, regions formerly claimed to be notoriously and presumably irreversibly
degraded by overgrazing have recovered after the end of long drought periods
(Donohue et al. 2013; Dardel et al. 2014). In the wake of an accelerated rate of
global socio-environmental change (Steffen et al. 2015), it is useful to question
whether drylands are doomed to be physically degraded and desertified by humans
(Reynolds and Stafford Smith 2002), or whether they instead present an opportunity
for sustainable development (Reynolds et al. 2007; Mortimore et al. 2009; Krätli
2015; Behnke and Mortimore 2016).
Dryland Socio-Ecological Systems Are Complex Systems
Socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems where the relationships
between humans and nature are based on interconnections among system components, whose interlinkages and dynamics create emerging properties with synergistic effects (Berkes et al. 2008; Koontz et al. 2015; Biesbroek et al. 2017; Tàbara
et al. 2018). All complex systems have their inherent quantitative measures such as
structure, dynamics, evolution, development, and complexity (Bar-Yam 1997;
García 2006). Physical, biological, social, cultural, economic, and political components interact and provide feedback at different rates and intensities across different
spatial and temporal scales, thus, they undergo non-linear, unpredictable changes
and self-organize after disturbance events (Liu et al. 2007).
Understanding the connectedness between humans and nature necessarily
requires inter- and transdisciplinary efforts and frameworks, including scholarly
E. Huber-Sannwald et al.