Les dossiers thématiques du CSFD, issue 5: why we should invest in arid areas?

The issue of economic costs and in particular macroeconomic costs of the degradation of land is slowly becoming a priority one in international meetings on the development of dry regions. It is also being combined with the cost of inaction revealed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2005. However, there are not many practical studies of the cost of degradation of land on a national level and furthermore the few there are not referenced very well in scientific publications. This article will describe different studies undertaken mainly by the World Bank, their methods and limitations as well as their results.