The conference reviewed the current state-of-knowledge of dryland ecosystems; it identified important knowledge gaps for defining future paths of research into drylands; and it commemorated fifty years of dryland research in the UN system in the context of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The conference - in a cross-cutting manner - also addressed issues related to research and science needed for dryland conservation, policy options for sustainable dryland development, and necessary interventions and

Millennium Development Goal Number Seven is particularly concerned with the safeguarding and provision of freshwater resources to all human.beings; this is a major challenge – and perhaps even the main challenge – for all the world’s drylands. SUMAMAD project aims at the sustainable management of marginal drylands, where the scarcity of water imposes restrictions for the productivity of each particular ecosystem. It is needed therefore to look into the entire water complex so as to promote a wise and sustainable water use. However,