Climate Change is coming.This can no longer be disputed.Initially, its impact will be felt in those parts of the world with the largest population densities and least wealth - the developing countries.However, at risk is the increasing danger of global security as the agricultural sustainability of drylands on each continent across the globe is affected.
As climate change intensifies, it will test human adaptive skills unlike any time in our existence and could easily lead to global resource scarcities. Environmental degradation over the long term could heighten existing social and political tensions, lead to new ones, or both. The Sahara/Sahel region represents the largest and most diverse area of global drylands on our planet. Species and ecosystems living here and throughout all of the global drylands have developed unique strategies to cope with its dramatic environmental extremes. Dryland people have engineered pastoral and farming systems adapted to these conditions that have sustained their livelihoods for centuries.
At the highest level, this story looks at the challenges of adaptation or migration to the impact of impending climate change.The topics of desertification, freshwater availability, agricultural sustainability, policies on land tenure and economic development will be addressed.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of our film will be its focus on success stories and the educational benefit that may accrue from this awareness. Although severely challenging, adaptation to life in the drylands continues every day for many people. It is easy to overlook these successes or to understand what life is like as one of the "Bottom Billion". This term has been borrowed from the title of a recent book by Paul Collier / The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. I really like this term and highly recommend his book. Finally, the film will look at expanding on the local benefits in the drylands from ecotourism, energy production and in improving ecosystem conservation.
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