ABSTRACT
In arid environments across Africa, land development proposals involving water transfers and irrigation projects are increasingly transforming what were once communally managed rangelands into private lands for urban or agricultural development. In the Egyptian desert, this is placing growing pressures on the socio-ecological systems, including those that are included in the biosphere reserves. In response, experts have been using sustainability science to redraw the zonation of one of the reserves and reassert its management. Interdisciplinary methods including analysis of satellite imagery and field surveys have shed light on the pressures from agricultural development and the expansion of human settlements into the rangelands at the core of the El Omayed Biosphere Reserve. Combining these scientific methods with participatory planning has enabled the relocation of the core area of the reserve and the establishment of an effective governance process to translate sustainability science into sustainability in practice. This experience at El Omayed will be of interest to the managers of reserves in other arid environments where land development pressures are growing, and competing priorities are under consideration. Sustainability science can help to enable communities, planners and donors to explore the options for management of biodiversity, climate change and development activities. Key insights concern not only the identification of feasible methods available to monitor and manage the ongoing environmental change processes, but also how these methods and findings from scientific work may be shared with stakeholders to ensure optimal outcomes for local livelihoods as well as environmental conservation.
