Environmental hazards menace life-support systems in drylands worldwide; sc
ience and technology can play an important role in enabling the habitats an
d their people to cope with these. Desertification is a global issue, compa
rable to other generally-recognized global problems such as climate change,
loss of biodiversity, and epidemic diseases. And desertification can be st
opped, if science and technology are mobilized in the service of a determin
ed international effort. Three global initiatives are essential: (1) a drou
ght early-warning system; (2) international desertification research center
s; and (3) an international program to develop water resource technologies.
(C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.