The Dryland Husbandry Project (DHP) came into being under an arrangement conceived by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), which changed later to Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). IGAD was established in 1986 by Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda as a platform for regional co-operation concerning environment and development. In January 1992, lOAD formerly requested support for a regional range management programme to implement a consolidated five-year plan, focusing on food security and environmental protection. An identification mission launched by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) in February 1992 explored the joint interests and basic concepts for co-operation related to dryland husbandry within the framework of IGAD's five-year plan. This was followed by Sida-supported project preparation based on the results of the exploratory mission. Uppsala University research programme on Environmental Policy and Society (EPOS) assisted IGAD and selected participating institutions in the member countries in the preparation of a regional Dryland Husbandry Programme to address environmental and associated socio-economic problems in the region.