| Summary: | Water scarcity affects 1-2 billion people globally, most of whom live in drylands. Under projected
climate change, millions more people will be living under conditions of severe water stress in the
coming decades. This review examines observed and projected climate change impacts on water
security across the world’s drylands to the year 2100. We find that efficient water management,
technology and infrastructure, and better demand and supply management, can offer more equitable
access to water resources. People are already adapting but need to be supported with coherent
system-oriented policies and institutions that situate water security at their core, in line with the
components of Integrated Water Resources Management. Dryland water governance urgently needs
to better account for synergies and trade-offs between water security and other dimensions of
sustainable development, to support an equitable approach in which no one gets left behind.
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