The International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) was established in 1990 to promote research, education, and training activities related to the development, management, and restoration or reclamation of arid and semiarid lands worldwide. The IALC, a leading international organization, supports ecological sustainability and development of arid and semiarid lands. Building on a decade of experience, IALC continues to increase the knowledge-base for managers by funding research, development, and demonstration projects, and special initiatives. The results from the scientific and technical projects enhance management and stewardship of arid and semiarid ecosystems for sustainable use, while maintaining the integrity of the ecological processes. The publication presents a review of the accomplishments and contributions of IALC's science and technical programs through a synopsis of the projects and initiatives. We group the projects and initiatives into soil and water resources development and conservation, land use and reclamation, processes enhancing the management of ecological systems, and inventorying and measurements techniques and monitoring.

With detailed data from nine sites around the world, the authors examine how the so-called ‘fragmentation’ of these fragile landscapes occurs and the consequences of this break-up for ecosystems and the people who depend on them. ‘Rangelands’ make up a quarter of the world’s landscape, and here, the case is developed that while fragmentation arises from different natural, social and economic conditions worldwide, it creates similar outcomes for human and natural systems.

We must enhance the effectiveness ofland stewardship and management of the world's natural resources to meet a growing global population's need for conservation, sustainable development, and use of land, water, and other natural resources. Ecosystem-based, mul tiple-use land stewardship is necessary when considering the present and future uses ofland, water, and other natural resources on an operationally efficient scale. We need holistically planned and carefully implemented watershed management practices, projects, and pro grams to accommodate the increasing demand for commodities and amenities, clear water, open space, and uncluttered landscapes. An international conference in Tucson, Arizona, from March 13 to 16, 2000, examined these needs and increased people's awareness of the contributions that ecosystem-based, multiple-use watershed management can make to future land stewardship. The conference was sponsored by the School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona; the College of Agriculture, University of Arizona; the Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service; the Research Center for Conservation of Water Resources and Disaster Pre vention, National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan; the Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota; the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agriculture Man agement, University of Minnesota; the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noreste, Mexico; the International Arid Lands Consortium; the USDA Natural Resources Conserva tion Service; the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior; the Salt River Project, Phoenix, Arizona; the Southern Arizona Chapter, Southwestern Section of the Society of American Foresters; and IUFRO Working Party 8. 04. 04, Erosion Control by Watershed Management.