Long-term ecological research (LTER) is invaluable for understanding environmental processes, particularly variability and drought, in arid countries and as support for effective natural resource management in the drylands. The Gobabeb Training and Research Centre undertakes various long-term monitoring focused on, inter alia, climate and the biophysical environment. Examples are given of the results of this LTER and how they could be used to serve social and environmental functions in the drylands. Keywords: arid zone, climate, drought, environmental monitoring, indicators, Namibia.