Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands
LADA
Geographical coverage
| Geographical scale of the assessment | Global,National |
|---|---|
| Country or countries covered | Cuba, China, Argentina, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa |
| Any other necessary information or explanation for identifying the location of the assessment, including site or region name |
Geographical scale of the assessment
Global,National
Country or countries covered
Cuba, China, Argentina, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa
Any other necessary information or explanation for identifying the location of the assessment, including site or region name
Conceptual framework, methodology and scope
Assessment objectives
To develop tools and methods to assess and quantify the nature, extent, severity and impacts of land degradation on dryland ecosystems, watersheds and river basins, carbon storage and biological diversity at a range of spatial and temporal scales. It also builds the national, regional and international capacity to analyse, design, plan and implement interventions to mitigate land degradation and establish sustainable land use and management practices.
Mandate for the assessment
Conceptual framework and/or methodology used for the assessment
URL or copy of conceptual framework developed or adapted
System(s) assessed
- Dryland
Species groups assessed
Ecosystem services/functions assessed
Provisioning
- Food
- Water
Regulating
- Erosion prevention
Supporting Services/Functions
- Soil formation and fertility
Cultural Services
Scope of assessment includes
Drivers of change in systems and services
Impacts of change in services on human well-being
Options for responding/interventions to the trends observed
Explicit consideration of the role of biodiversity in the systems and services covered by the assessment
Yes
Timing of the assessment
Year assessment started
2006
Year assessment finished
2010
If ongoing, year assessment is anticipated to finish
Periodicity of assessment
One off
Assessment outputs
Website(s)
Report(s)
Communication materials (e.g. brochure, presentations, posters, audio-visual media)
Journal publications
Training materials
Other documents/outputs
Tools and processes
Tools and approaches used in the assessment
- Modelling
- Geospatial analysis
Process used for stakeholder engagement in the assessment process and which component
Key stakeholder groups engaged
The number of people directly involved in the assessment process
Incorporation of scientific and other types of knowledge
Supporting documentation for specific approaches, methodology or criteria developed and/or used to integrate knowledge systems into the assessment
Assessment reports peer reviewed
Data
Accessibility of data used in assessment
Policy impact
Impacts the assessment has had on policy and/or decision making, as evidenced through policy references and actions
Independent or other review on policy impact of the assessment
Lessons learnt for future assessments from these reviews
The capacities developed and the knowledge base produced by the project, constitute a platform for policy making at national and global level. All the information is made available to interested parties through workshops, publications, web-based information systems and the increased expertise of the national organizations involved.
LADA communicates and exchanges land degradation information in order to complete the linkage between research and the policy decision-making process. It does this through policy guidance (in UN-CCD's Regional, Sub-regional and National Action Programmes), with GEF and other implementing agencies in land degradation control, and the identification of priority actions, such as policy and institutional reforms and development investments at all levels.
Capacity building
Capacity building needs identified during the assessment
At all stages of intervention within the LADA project, substantial attention is given to training, institutional and technical capacity building, with the final goal of improving policy and decision-making capability. A particular emphasis is put on multi-stakeholder involvement and participation, especially of land users and farmers at the local level and of policymakers at national and global levels.
Local professionals and extension agents are being trained in field assessment of land degradation through adopting a farmer-perspective and using a sustainable rural livelihoods approach.
The capacity building activity has a special focus at regional level, through the establishment in the LADA countries of six regional training centres on land degradation issues. The regional centres will be created with the collaboration of the national partners, trainers identified and the curricula developed.
