the vast majority live in the Global South. In recent decades, about 7.6% of global land (an area larger than Canada) has transitioned into drier conditions, either becoming more arid or shifting from non-drylands to drylands. An area half the size of Australia has transformed from once-humid landscapes into drylands.

Sustainable land management practices (such as mobile pastoralism), restoring degraded lands, and climate-smart agriculture can mitigate