Soil erosion is a major problem in the Yellow River Basin: the river is one of the most

sediment-laden in the world. Although there is a rainfall gradient from 750 mm in southern

Shandong, to 200mm per year in northern Ningxia, most of the rainfed cropping area is in

regions with more than 400 mm per year – it is here that the project concentrated.

Conservation agriculture (featuring reduced or zero tillage, mulch retention, crop rotations

and cover crops) offers a possible solution to problems of soil erosion and low crop

This document outlines the necessity of formulating development policies specifically targeted at pastoralists and their livelihoods. The author reports that pastoralists have generally been ill-served by development policies and actions because of myths suggesting that pastoralists were 'backward'. Previous policies focused on changing pastoralists into something more ‘modern' or progressive.

Desertification occurs in drylands,which span a third of the earth ’s land surface in over 110 countries.It influences the lives of about 500 000 people – the so-called environmental refugees –including many of the world ’s poorest and most marginalized populations. Each year 12 million hectares (ha)are lost to deserts.That is enough land to grow 20 million tonnes of grain.

Change in land management practices and governmental policies is urgently needed to reverse the continuing decline of marginal drylands. Marginal drylands are fragile ecosystems that sustain the livelihoods of millions of poor people in developing countries. However, their capacity to provide these services is continuously declining due to desertification, resulting in dwindling land productivity, and affecting human well-being and development opportunities in many marginal drylands.

Most commonly in drylands the salinity levels are always high and evenly dispersed due to this salinity levels the plant cultivated are usually tremendously affected. Normal plants cannot grow in soils with high salinity levels. In this book the authors would like to analyze the effects of human acticities on the salinity lebvels in drylands.

It took scientists more than three decades to transform a perceived desertification crisis in the Sahel into a non-event. Looking beyond the Sahel, the chapters in this book provide case studies from around the world that examine the use and relevance of the desertification concept.

In a world grappling with the challenges of food insecurity, climate change, landscape degradation, and rural poverty, regreening offers a path forward, especially in dryland areas. The transformation of degraded landscapes—restoring productivity and increasing resilience through the widespread adoption of agroforestry and sustainable land management practices—can deliver food, climate, and livelihood benefits.
Table of contents:
Part I. Introduction
Part II. How and Where is Regreening Happening?
Part III. The Impacts Of Regreening

The authors briefly review how microbial biotechnology can contribute to improve activities aiming to restore degraded drylands and to combat their desertification, which are an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goal 15 of the 2030 Agenda. Microbial biotechnology offers notable promise to improve restoration actions based on the use of biocrust‐forming engineered cyanobacteria, which play key roles in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in drylands worldwide.

Key success factors
There were several reasons for the success of the restoration initiative.
• Implementation had the active participation of the local community; i.e., it was community- led restoration.
• Restoration produced short- and long-term economic and environmental benefits.
• It systematically included women, girls and youth in restoration activities.
• The former village leader had the leadership capacity to mobilize the local community.

Since the mid-1980s, the positive impacts of these simple, cost-efficient water harvesting techniques become clear, following their increasingly widespread adoption. Their use has allowed smallholders to reverse land degradation, improve soil fertility, sustainably increase crop production, achieve food security, and create more productive, diverse and resilient farming systems. At the same time, groundwater is recharged, improving access to drinking water for the entire year, and creating opportunities for irrigated vegetable gardening around wells.

The Great Green Wall is one of the main vehicles for delivering the Sustainable Development Goals and the Rio conventions in the Sahel. Biodiversity is the foundation of the Great Green Wall in many ways, determining soil productivity and water cycles and providing the foundation for risk management and resilient ecosystems. The Great Green Wall can make a major contribution to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals.

As a farmer in northern Kenya, I came to understand the importance of dryland restoration. After moving to Kaijaido country in the south, I started an initiative to restore the land, increase food security and reduce poverty, supported by a grant from the East African Community with various activities supported by FAO and Yale University.