Global collaboration

UNDP Integrated Drylands Development Programme

medesdesire@googlemail.com (Jane Brandt) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:03:25 +0000

IDDP	Integrated Drylands Development Programme
Time span:	ongoing, since 2001
Aim:	The Integrated Drylands Development Programme (IDDP) is the framework through which the support of the UNDP Drylands Development Centre (DDC) is delivered to programme countries. It takes a people centered approach, whose development objective is to contribute to rural poverty reduction and increased food security for the communities living in the rural drylands in the affected countries. The immediate objective is to catalyze and energize the implementation of the MDGs in the affected countries by 2015. It is expected that this will result in improved livelihoods and social-economic well-being of drylands communities. This will be achieved through: Effective mainstreaming of drylands issues into development frameworks leading to budgetary allocation for implementing livelihoods options on the ground; advocacy, awareness creation and policy dialogue at national and sub-national levels. Improve living standards for rural communities living in the drylands through strengthening the rural economy and creating and implementing livelihood opportunities; lessons learnt from these will inform policy processes. Increase resilience and sustainability of the rural livelihoods system through improved capacity of local communities for governance and sustainable management of local resources.
Countries:	IDDP currently operates in 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States.
Website:	http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/global-policy-centres/sustainable_landmanagement/integrated_drylandsdevelopmentprogramme.html

WOCAT

medesdesire@googlemail.com (Jane Brandt) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:53:48 +0000

WOCAT	World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies
Time span:	ongoing, since 1992
Aim:	WOCAT's mission is to provide tools that allow Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) specialists to share their valuable knowledge in soil and water management, that assist them in their search for appropriate SWC technologies and approaches, and that support them in making decisions in the field and at the planning level.
Description:	Every day land users and soil and water conservation (SWC) specialists evaluate experience and generate know-how related to land management, improvement of soil fertility, and protection of soil resources. Most of this valuable knowledge, however, is not well documented or easily accessible, and comparison of different types of experience is difficult. This SWC knowledge therefore remains a local, individual resource, unavailable to others working in the same areas and seeking to accomplish similar tasks. This may be one of the reasons why soil and water degradation persists, despite many years of effort throughout the world and high investments in SWC. WOCAT was established as a global network of SWC specialists. It facilitates more efficient use of existing know-how and, consequently, of development funds. It thus helps to optimise the implementation of appropriate SWC and to avoid duplication of effort.
Countries:	As a network, WOCAT has a list of collaborating and funding institutions (see website).
Website:	http://www.wocat.net/

Drynet

medesdesire@googlemail.com (Jane Brandt) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:59:18 +0000

DRYNET	A global initiative, giving future to drylands
Time span:	ongoing, since 2007
Description:	In order to contribute to countering dryland degradation, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from all over the world joined forces in 2007 in a programme called Drynet. Since most drylands lie in marginalised, rural areas where few investments are made by central decision-makers and donors, communities themselves have a rich experience in developing their own solutions to the challenges of land degradation and drought. Many of these solutions are innovative and deserve more attention, as the largest investments in drylands still come from the local people themselves. Communities come up with their own management and delivery systems with relatively low overhead costs, and contribute labour, materials and skills. In other words, desertification could be tackled much more cost-effectively if local knowledge and action are taken into account when looking for solutions. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are recognised to play an important role in mobilising and supporting communities in their efforts to combat desertification. Some of them are also in touch with decision-makers at various levels in their country and abroad, making them potentially a crucial nexus between local land users and national decision making. Therefore, Drynet is focusing on further developing capacities of CSOs working in drylands across the globe. By involving civil society groups in local and national development and planning processes Drynet builds a foundation for civil society across the world to strengthen its position in the struggle to sustainably manage drylands. Drynet is a networking and capacity building initiative that aims to strengthen the voices of local dryland communities through their organisations. It has been financed so far by the European Union, the Global Mechanism, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IUCN NL, PSO, Miserior, and the network partners themselves.
Countries:	Worldwide, from Bolivia and Chile to Mauritania and South Africa, from Central Asia and Iran to Norway and France
Website:	http://www.dry-net.org

LAND-L announcement list

medesdesire@googlemail.com (Jane Brandt) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:55:44 +0000

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is pleased to announce the launch of the LAND-L announcement list.

Subscribe to the LAND-L list

This new distribution list, similar to IISD's other announcement lists CLIMATE-L, FORESTS-L, WATER-L, CHEMICALS-L, MEA-L, OCEANS-L, ENERGY-L and AFRICASD-L, has been launched in conjunction with the new Comprehensive Communication Strategy of the UNCCD

The purpose of LAND-L is to provide a free, moderated, community communications tool, allowing subscribers to post announcements related to desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) as well as sustainable land management (SLM) events, policy developments, publications and new initiatives. LAND-L is not a discussion list and is limited to non-commercial, non-political announcements.

After signing up for LAND-L please check your email folders and respond to a confirmation email.

Any subscriber may use this new list to send announcements to the other subscribers on the list by sending emails to LAND-L@lists.iisd.ca

For assistance in subscribing to LAND-L, please send email to IISD Reporting Services Digital Manager, Diego Noguera, at diego@iisd.org