Introduction: International Network for the Sustainability of Drylands—Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research for Dryland Stewardship and Sustainable Development

Drylands are the largest biome complex on Planet Earth and home to over 40% of the human population. Their extraordinary high biotic and cultural richness is endangered by global climate change, land use pressures including coastal/marine systems, and environmental degradation. Understanding and maintaining the functional integrity of dryland socio-ecological systems (DSES) is fundamental for sustainable development. It requires resilience-based dryland stewardship, where land users, managers and decision-makers incorporate change, as understood from the multiple actors’ perspective of a SES, into their planning and governance. The linkage of America’s drylands with west Africa and Southern Europe is often overseen, however increasing economic activities in these DSES have enormous impacts on their functional integrity. In response to this daunting task, academic and government institutions founded the Agadir Platform as a coordinating instrument for cooperation in the Global South. As focal node of this platform, Mexico established the first international network to co-generate knowledge through transdisciplinary research partnerships. We present the conceptual framework of this network highlighting 1) the socio-ecological system’s approach, 2) the transdisciplinary scope of participatory research, 3) the intercultural action scheme, and 4) the repercussions of this integrated approach on polycentric governance. This book includes diverse examples of the application of this framework in DSES ranging from co-designing socio-ecological development projects, to adaptive management, and policy development.