In arid regions, oases ecosystems are fragile and sensitive to climate change, and water is the major limiting factor for environmental and socio-economic developments. Understanding the drivers of land use/cover change (LUCC) in arid regions is important for the development of management strategies to improve or prevent environmental deterioration and loss of natural resources.

Asia drylands face increasing climate hazard risk, changing socio-economic forces, and environmental challenges that affect community viability. As home to >1 billion residents, deserts are at the centre of the continent’s climate-human predicament. Extreme water scarcity, dependence on food imports and now conflict increase hazard exposure across shared drylands, yet management differs from state to state. This paper argues that a more coherent strategy for mitigating risk would be based on natural environments.

In response to situations of violence and armed conflict as thosepresent in the Colombian reality, the church’s pastoral commitmentshould be effective. Then, the suburban pastoral (periphery pastoral), that promotes mercy and compassion as principles of its action, can respond to this reality more comprehensively. This article inquires about this situation and seeks to offer some clues in order to make pastoral action in the big cities, taking into account the reality of displacement.