ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the extent and significance of environmental insecurity in the drylands of Africa and the role science and technology can play in any effort to find solutions. Major environmental security problems stem from the effects of drought, desiccation, climatic variability, climate change, population and human activities. Environmental security is viewed from two related perspectives: first, in terms of those environmental conditions that enable individuals and groups to satisfy their basic needs and those that offer opportunities for sustainable livelihoods, and second, as a precondition for peace and conflict resolution. The security of one group of actors in their respective relationship to natural resources or the harsh conditions of the drylands will automatically affect the security of other groups of actors in the same environment. A matter closely related to the problem of environmental security in Africa is the scarcity of natural resources vis-a-vis human carrying capacity.
