Pastoralists and policymakers share strategies and technologies at summer school for saving the drylands
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) today concluded its Drylands Summer School in Nairobi, Kenya, with participation and support from the Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action, an international partnership that brokers science and knowledge to counter environmental shocks facing dryland communities, and Community Jameel.
Opening on 12 September 2024, 28 participants, including dryland foresters, pastoralists, planners and experts from governmental institutions, such as the Saudi National Centre for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification and the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, attended the programme, which aims to empower dryland communities to tackle complex threats to their way of life.
Drylands and rangelands play a crucial role in supporting the livelihoods of over 2 million people worldwide.
Yet these regions face mounting challenges, exacerbated by climate change and unsustainable land use practices.
In particular, dryland forests are key in coping with climate variability, especially concerning food security and nutrition for local communities.
However, the increasing use of intensive livestock production systems poses a risk of degradation to these vital forest ecosystems, impacting the livelihoods of more than 200 million pastoralists globally.
Tackling the complex challenges facing the drylands requires investment in research, technology and education – including through the Drylands Summer School – to support dryland communities in safeguarding their environments and securing their future.
Topics covered at the summer school included new technologies for dryland restoration, tools for monitoring land degradation and techniques for participatory data collection.
Guyo Malicha Roba, head of the Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action, led a module on monitoring pastoralist activity.
Nader Iskandar Diab, head of programmes at Community Jameel, said: “With the drylands – and the pastoralist ways of life they sustain – under threat, it is vitally important to convene opportunities to learn from one another and to build bridges between systems of knowledge. We are excited to see the Jameel Observatory playing a leading role, from partnering with the FAO and other organisations on the Drylands Summer School, to developing its own Dryland Futures Academy.”
Announced in 2023 at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai during a meeting hosted by Bill Gates and Community Jameel vice chairman Fady Jameel, the Jameel Observatory’s emerging Dryland Futures Academy aims to enhance the resilience of dryland communities in the face of ever-increasing climate shocks.
As well as the Jameel Observatory and Community Jameel, the Drylands Summer School was supported by the Kenya Forest Service, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and several universities and research institutes.
In December 2024, the UNCCD will convene the 16th session of its conference of the parties (COP16) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the themes of the Drylands Summer School central to the agenda.
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