ABSTRACT
Risk and uncertainty are unavoidable aspects of decisions concerning the development and management of dryland areas. Questions that need to be answered in addressing the problem of risk and uncertainty include:
How can risk and uncertainty be defined and measured?
How should the land user evaluate risk and uncertainty in managing resources at his/her disposal and balance the prospect of production failure against the need to produce physical or economic returns?
In benefit – cost assessments of public policies, programmes and projects, how should the analyst take risk and uncertainty into account and present meaningful information to public decision-makers?
How should public decision-makers, acting in the best interest of the community, deal with the problem of risk and uncertainty in formulating and implementing improvement policies, programmes and projects?
