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institutional capacities (Bass et al. 2010). Acting on that tangle of factors requires a
typical mainstreaming process.
According to World Desertification Atlas (Cherlet et al. 2018) underlying and
familiar factors—some old, some new—are driving environmental change/land
degradation at a global scale and some recurring global issues (such as surface and
ground water) have an alarming urgency that could not be known 20  years ago.
There is a growing confirmation of suspected global trends (such as a decline in
productivity) that may impact sustainability. Some regional patterns of potential
degradation are reconfirmed (south Asia; China) and some underlying causes are
revealed (heavy fertilizer use and irrigation). Concerns emerge at the regional level
that brings into question our ability to meet the demands of future populations, e.g.,
maintaining and increasing yields on high-density croplands.
Fig. 19.2 Drylands ecosystems contribution to basic materials for human use, security, and society cohesiveness in long and short terms
19 Governing Drylands Through Environmental Mainstreaming: How to Cope…