Desertification has emerged as an environmental crisis of global proportions, currently affecting an estimated 100 to 200 million people, and threatening the lives and livelihoods of a much larger number. As a result of desertification, persistent reductions in the capacity of ecosystems to provide services such as food, water and other necessities, are leading to a major decline in the well-being of people living in drylands. Recent evaluations, such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, clearly demonstrate that there are no signs that the desertification trends are abating on a global scale (Adeel et al., 2005).

This situation poses significant policy challenges.Fundamental policy-relevant questions remain unanswered or are inadequately addressed. Because future desertification can potentially impact one-third of the world’s population directly, and has broad, sweeping global impacts, searching questions have to be asked about the current policy regimes, and their apparent failure to reverse desertification trends