Climate Variability Impacts on Land Use and Livelihoods in Drylands

This edited volume is devoted to the examination of the implications of the inevitable changes wrought by global change on the welfare and livelihoods of tens of millions of people who live in dryland regions. Global change is more than just climate change and the ramifications of changing trade patterns (geopolitical and economic aspects), the shift to the market economy, demographic factors (population growth, urbanization and re-settlement), receive attention here. Land use change specialists, policy makers and natural resource management agencies will find the book very useful.Chapters focus on examples that are drawn from a number of sources including previously unpublished studies on the impact of climate change, markets and economics on pastoralist and dryland farming households. The key focus is to provide readers with insights into the real world implications of change (including an analysis of the drivers of change) on these vulnerable groups within dryland societies. The role of humans as agents of these changes is canvassed. A regional analysis of the world's drylands is also performed including those in Australia, Argentina, India, North America, China, North Africa, Central Asia and Southern Africa.   

This edited volume is devoted to the examination of the implications of the inevitable changes wrought by global change on the welfare and livelihoods of tens of millions of people who live in dryland regions. Global change is more than just climate change and the ramifications of changing trade patterns (geopolitical and economic aspects), the shift to the market economy, demographic factors (population growth, urbanization and re-settlement), receive attention here. Land use change specialists, policy makers and natural resource management agencies will find the book very useful.

Part 1. Background and Setting.- Chapter 1. Geographic Extent and Characteristics of the World’s Drylands and Their Peoples.- Chapter 2. Recent Trends in Drylands and Future Scope for Advancement.- Chapter 3. Global Change and its Consequences for the World’s Arid Lands.- Part 2. Arid lands under a global change regime.- Chapter 4. Humans as Change Agents in Drylands (With Special Reference to Qinghai- Tibet Plateau).- Chapter 5. Climate Variability and Impact on Livelihoods in the Cold Arid Tibet Plateau.- Chapter 6. Iran’s Arid Zone Watershed Protection Initiative.- Chapter 7. Thar Desert -- Its Land Management, Livelihoods and Prospects in a Global Warming Scenario.- Part 3. Northern Hemisphere Aridlands: Selected Examples.- Chapter 8. Dry Lands of North America – Current Status and Future Prospects.- Chapter 9. Desertification and Land Degradation in Indian Sub Continent: Issues, Present Status and Future Challenges. Chapter 10. China’s Drylands –Problems Prospects.- Chapter 11. Aridlands of North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin – Current Status and Future Prospects.- Part 4. Southern Hemisphere Aridlands: Selected Examples.- Chapter 12. Southern African Drylands -– Current Status and Future Prospects.- Chapter 13. Arid and Semiarid Rangelands of Argentina.- Chapter 14. The Impact of Climate Variability on Land use and Livelihoods in Australia’s Rangelands.- Part 5. Summary, Synthesis and Concluding Remarks.- Chapter 15. Drylands Under a Climate Change Regime: Implications for the Land and the Pastoral People they Support.- Chapter 16. Unifying concepts, synthesis and conclusions.