Sub-Regional Resource Facility for Arab States

Overview/Operations

The UNDP Drylands Development Centre (DDC) was launched in 2002 based upon the former UNSO - United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office which for the past three decades has been at the forefront of efforts to combat desertification and drought in the most effected regions of the world.

The headquarters for the Drylands Development Centre is located in Nairobi with four regional offices in Beirut, Dakar, Pretoria and San Jose, integrated into UNDP's regional SURFs. For more information please visit DDC HQs webpage on: www.undp.org/drylands

How It Operates

The Drylands Development Centre is a Centre of Excellence that helps people to fight poverty in the drylands of the world. The Centre has established itself as a policy and technical advisory service for countries faced with the challenge of bringing development to the drylands. DDC's Overall goal is to contribute to the realization of the millennium development goal of halving global poverty by 2015, through the sustainable development of drylands leading to reduced vulnerability and improved livelihoods.

The Drylands Development Centre concentrates its work on the root causes of land degradation in supporting the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. DDC carries out research and analysis of policies that affect communities in the drylands and provide advice and policy-making support to decision-makers. DDC helps countries to design and manage capacity development programmes in their drylands, and ensures that national policy and planning frameworks address the social and environmental concerns of dryland populations.

We build partnerships, generate knowledge and promote learning. Our learning networks link local-level actors with the international community. We promote the strengthening of the capacities of individuals and institutions at the local level while working to ensure that national policy and legislation support local development.