Globally, semi-arid lands are home to approximately one billion people, including some of the poorest and least food secure. They occupy more than 15 percent of the earth's land surface. These regions will be among the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change.
This article argues that national governments have underestimated opportunities for climate-resilient development in semi-arid lands, revisiting and updating literatures that highlight ways in which the adaptive capacity of semi-arid land populations has been undermined by current adaptation and development policy and practice. It urges governments and their development partners to put semi-arid land inhabitants and their activities at the heart of efforts to support adaptation and climate resilient development, identifying opportunities to capitalize on the knowledge, institutions, resources, and practices of semi-arid land populations in adaptation action.