Who We Are

The Drylands Development Centre (DDC) is a thematic centre of UNDP dedicated to fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development in the drier regions of the world. Over 40 percent of the world is drylands, where about 2.3 billon people live in nearly 100 countries. Many people living in drylands depend directly upon a highly variable natural resource base for their livelihoods, and about half of all dryland inhabitants - one billion people - are poor and marginalized. This accounts for close to half of the world's poor.

The UNDP-DDC recognizes that achieving sustainable development in the drylands has significant implications for reducing poverty and hunger worldwide. It will be impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goals of halving world poverty and hunger by 2015 unless life is improved for the people of the drylands. Fortunately, the drylands have the potential to be productive and there is a real opportunity for the people who live there to prosper.

Through UNDP's network of country offices, the Centre:

• carries out research and analysis of policies that affect communities in the drylands, and provide advice and policy-making support to decision-makers;
• helps countries to design and manage integrated drylands development programmes, and to ensure that national policy and planning frameworks address the economic, social and environmental concerns of dryland populations;
• builds and promotes institutional capacity strengthening of communities and individuals at the local level while working to ensure that national policy and legislation support local development;
• undertakes global advocacy on the challenges and opportunities for the drylands, generates knowledge and promotes sharing and learning amongst and within countries and communities; and
• builds partnerships to support drylands programmes.

The UNDP-DDC's support is delivered through its framework programme, the Integrated Drylands Development Programme (IDDP). The IDDP is currently operational in 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States. The IDDP combines three approaches to drylands development into one integrated programme:

• mainstreaming of drylands development issues into national policy and planning frameworks;
• reducing vulnerability of poor populations to climatic shocks, especially drought;
• and improving local governance of natural resources management.

The Global Office of the Centre is located in Nairobi, Kenya; staff responsible for Africa are co-located with the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa in South Africa, and for the Arab States with the Regional Service Centre for Arab States in Lebanon. The field-based staff work closely with our partner countries, helping them by providing technical support and policy advice, while monitoring activities to ensure timely and useful reporting to donors and other partners.

For our latest DDC Activity report, covering the period 2010-2011, please click here.