SciDev.Net: Dryland ecosystems, which cover one third of the world’s land area, are extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation, inappropriate land use and, consequently, land degradation and desertification. Developing countries are the most affected because poverty, political instability and territorial imbalance worsen the fragility and slow recovery of their drylands. Deforestation, overgrazing andinappropriate irrigation — widely practiced in drylands across the developing world — all also …