Drylands make up about 43 percent of the region’s land surface, account for about 75 percent of the area used for agriculture, and are home to about 50 percent of the population, including many poor. Involving complex interactions among many factors, vulnerability in drylands is rising, jeopardizing the livelihood for of millions. Focusing primarily on the two biggest vulnerability hotspots—the Sahel region of West Africa and the Horn of Africa region in East Africa—the book sheds light on the factors contributing to vulnerability among dryland populations, identifies strategies for enhancing
the resilience of the millions of households that depend on traditional livelihood strategies, such as livestock-keeping and farming, and draws a number of conclusions that have important implications for policy making and program design. The book has three principal objectives: Characterize current and future challenges to reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa; Identify interventions that can enhance the resilience of populations living in the drylands, estimate the cost of these interventions, and assess their effectiveness; and Provide an evidence-based framework that can be used to improve decision making on alternative options to enhance resilience.