Scientists and policymakers have gathered in Tunis, Tunisia to commemorate 50 years of drylands research and discuss the future of drylands.

At the conclusion of the 19-21 June 2006 meeting, participants adopted a Tunis Declaration, which identifies a number of research priorities for dryland areas. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to mark the UN International Year of Deserts and Desertification, and gathered approximately 400 participants. The research priority issues identified in the Tunis Declaration include: the interdependence and conservation of cultural and biological diversity; integrated management of water resources in the context of a looming water crisis; assessing and forecasting dryland ecosystem dynamics to formulate adaptation strategies in the context of global change and to alleviate poverty so as to achieve the MDGs; agriculture and pastoralism as opportunities for sustainable land use; coping with and management of natural and man-made disasters; formulating and implementing scenarios and policy options for good governance in the context of global change; identifying viable dryland livelihoods and policy options for the benefit of dryland dwellers (such as ecotourism); educating for sustainable development and knowledge sharing; reversing environmental degradation and promoting rehabilitation; costs related to inaction [emphasis in original] in the field of land degradation; renewable energies suitable for dryland development; and evaluation of dryland ecosystem services and their trade-offs.

Link to further information
Meeting website