Knowledge and information management and dissemination improved

Despite enormous investment in development in the drylands over several decades, change in community livelihoods remains limited. A major setback is a disconnect between sound research and the knowledge generated by government, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and international development partners and its application to inform meaningful development in the region. One reason for this is the divide between research and practice and the omission of the central role that local actors ought to play in their own development. Another reason is that research often does not take the specific features of pastoral production and livelihood into account. Mostly the development agents, including government ministries base their investments on either weak data or findings that are not practically relevant to the drylands conditions.

Our areas of action:

• Promote collaborative research to generate a credible knowledge base

• Promote the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge systems

• Enhance management and sharing of data to improve utilization