This session will take the audience on a journey to three parts of the world – Central Asia, Africa and Latin America – in order to hear the stories of pastoralists and others living there. The challenges that these people face will be discussed together with the different innovations that are being developed to overcome them and harness the productivities of drylands and rangelands for local and national economies, food production, and biodiversity conservation. The dearth of good data on rangelands and drylands will be highlighted, and a pathway mapped out for drawing sufficient attention to and investment in rangelands and drylands through the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.