Author: Gudrun Schwilch (Centre for Development and Environment CDE, University Bern, Switzerland)

Brief synthesis

Analysing the single workshop reports reveals that in almost all study sites it was possible to identify promising land conservation practices for further assessment and to establish a good basis for participative stakeholder cooperation. Such a first assessment of SLM measures conducted by local and external stakeholders gives already a clear understanding of the importance and benefit of the various measures. In 3 study sites the list was compiled by researchers only (Crete and Nestos Basin, Greece; Rendina Basin, Italy).

From a total of 60 priority measures of all study sites, 39 are already applied solutions, whereas 21 are potential solutions. It is noticeable that in some study sites, all promising measures are already applied and in others all are potential only. Among the first group (all applied) are the study sites of Portugal, Nestos Basin Greece, Crete Greece, Morocco, Tunisia and China, and among the second group (all potential) Djanybek Russia and Chile. Whether this corresponds to countries with a tradition in soil and water conservation or not is non conclusive.

Looking at the type of measures results in 19 agronomic, 10 vegetative, 23 structural and 25 management measures, whereas in 17 cases two types of measures are combined. Some conservation technologies are mentioned in several study sites, such as drip irrigation which is mentioned in both Russian, both Turkish and the Crete Greece study sites, but being applied so far in Konya Karapinar (Turkey) and Crete (Greece) only. Other measure can also be grouped into similar categories, as presented in the table below. The table serves as first overview of the identified measures.

The table indicates that there is a high variety of measures represented. This variety is also reflecting the diversity of degradation and desertification problems prevalent in the study sites. Most of the identified measures are on cropland (66%), 16% are on grazing land and 5% on forest land. The rest is on a combination of two of these land use types. Limiting factors are often costs, education or technical constraints, whereas the perception of these limiting factors is mostly similar between local and external stakeholders. In many study sites it got clear that the land users need support from the government in one or the other way to combat land degradation and desertification, such as direct financial support or training. The similarity or agreement between local and external stakeholders applies also for the assessed potential of the identified measures in the local context.

More analysis on the first stakeholder workshop reports has been done in the synthesis report »Stakeholder Workshop 1: All study sites - analysis and synthesis.