Desertification

Desertification - Combating Desertification is a Reply to the Earth's SOS 

Desertification is not the desert advancing, but rather a haemorrhaging of the soil's vital nutrients to the point where they are totally exhausted. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) speaks of "land degradation" to describe this phenomenon. Although Africa, Asia, and Latin America are worst hit by desertification, it should not be forgotten that all 5 continents are affected.

Under this block you will find sites and publications on "Desertification":



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Forests, Landscapes & Governance: multiple roles, multiple actors
September 2009
Author: Carter, J. et al.

The overwhelming conclusion of the two workshops documented in this publication is that the future of the world’s forest depends not so much on technical knowledge or financial investment (although both are important), but on their good governance – based on mutual respect and agreement between different stakeholders on the way forward. Simply said (but far more difficult to implement), political, social and economic decisions over resource management, use and benefit sharing should be based on legal frameworks and procedures that are equitable, transparent, and broadly accepted by members of society. Society here encompasses different levels – from the very local level (that of individual village or forest), to the landscape level, to the national, regional and also the international level.

Download (PDF, 6809 KB):  [en]  


InfoResources: News, Focus, Trends
May 2008

InfoResources News: If you wish to be updated on the latest developments and debates, subscribe to the newsletter. InfoResources Focus: provides a general overview of pertinent and topical subjects to guide one through the information jungle. Each issue focuses on a current theme relative to forests, agriculture, natural resources and the environment, in the context of international development cooperation. InfoResources Trends: compiles personal assessments of predicted changes by experts from the realms of politics and science, as well as from implementing agencies of NGOs around the world, and it makes these assessments accessible to a broader professional public.

Download:  [en]  


Facts on Desertification
January 2008
Author: GreenFacts

DESERTIFICATION is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems. It threatens the livelihoods of some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations on the planet. Desertification is largely caused by unsustainable use of scarce resources. What options exist to avoid or reverse desertification and its negative impacts?

Download (PDF, 739 KB):  [en]   [fr]  


Greenfacts - Facts on health and environment
2008
Author: Greenfacts

Greenfacts’ Mission is to bring complex scientific consensus reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-specialists. Greenfacts publishes clear and faithful summaries of existing scientific reports on environmental and health topics: GreenFacts Digests and GreenFacts Co-Publications. Greenfacts are an independent non-profit organization with a multi-stakeholder governance and a non-advocacy policy.

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Capitalisation of experiences on forest programmes / elements for a working aid on forests (German)
December 2007
Author: Thomas Stadtmüller

Fehlschläge und Erfolge: eine Gegenüberstellung - Erfolgsbestimmende Faktoren: Versuch einer Identifikation - Aufforstungsvorhaben in der EZA: gute Absicht – geringer Erfolg - Wald als Ausgangspunkt einer Wertschöpfungskette: die Verlockung des Angebots - Agroforstwirschaft: wertvolles Produkt integrierter Vorgehensweise - Ausbildung: Schlüsselfaktor für eine langfristige Wirkung - Zielgruppen: Akteure, ihre Bedeutung und ihr Entwicklungspotential - Fach- und Führungskräfte in Waldprojekten: ein wichtiger Erfolgsgarant - Wissensmanagement: ein allgemeines Problemfeld von EZA-Projekten - Politikdialog und bilaterale Projekte: ein wertvolles Tandem - Waldprojekte in der Zukunft: Dilemma, Herausforderungen und Rolle - Multilaterale EZA und Wald: Bedeutung und Komplementarität mit der bilateralen EZA

Download (PDF, 135 KB):  [de]  


10-year strategic plan and framework to enhance
September 2007
Author: ICCD/COP (8)

The Conference of the Parties adopted (Decision 3/COP.8) the ten-year strategic plan and framework for the UNCCD. The ten-year plan sets out operational objectives on issues including awareness-raising, policy framework, science and technology and capacity-building

Download:  [en]  


CGIAR Annual Report
2007
Author: The CGIAR partnership

This report celebrates the partnerships through which demand-driven research is conducted to mold discoveries made in the laboratory and the field into international public goods. These public goods are the tools with which regional, national and local organizations — as well as individual farm families — help to foster economic growth and build more sustainable livelihoods for all. Millions of people worldwide benefit directly from CGIAR innovations and interventions, while thousands have a hand in producing the international public goods from which these benefits derive. But the process begins with the contributions of the few, the 64 Members of the CGIAR.

Download:  [en]  


Impact des investissements dans la gestion des ressources naturelles: rapport de synthèse
December 2006
Author: Centre Régional d'Enseignement Specialisé en Agriculture (CRESA)

After 20 years of projects and programmes on sustainable resource management in Niger, the authors of the study investigate impacts on the environment, agricultural production systems, food security, poverty alleviation, livelihood systems etc. Without neglegting current problems, they come up with preliminary but rather promising and positive results.

Download (PDF, 3014 KB):  [en]   [fr]  


Coping with drought
August 2006
Author: SDC

Coping with drought This brochure is about the harsh and increasingly difficult livelihood situations of communities in desert margins and semi-arid areas. Human induced pressures on the environment result in overgrazing, over-intensification in agriculture and loss of forests which are further enhanced by climate change. The brochure discusses along selected project examples how SDC supports rural communities, local organisations, national technical services, research institutions and networks in their endeavour to cope with recurring droughts, scarcity of water and impoverishment of soils.

Download (PDF, 1517 KB):  [en]   [fr]  


Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
December 2005
Author: UN

Initiated in 2001, the objective of the MA was to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being. The MA has involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. Their findings provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide (such as clean water, food, forest products, flood control, and natural resources) and the options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems.

Download:  [en]  

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