Institute full name:

Universität Bern, Centre for Development and Environment

Institute acronym:

UNIBE-CDE

Institute profile:

CDE is the University of Bern's centre for sustainable development research. It aims to contribute to sustainable development worldwide through research partnerships, education and training, development of concepts and tools, and policy advice. CDE's focuses include management of natural resources, sustainable regional development, and interventions that maximise human potential to address the challenges of global change. The goals are to understand the effects of global change on natural resources and people's lives; develop and disseminate context-specific and multi-sectoral innovations; and, through education, promote learning for and from sustainable development. Combining methods, such as GIS-based earth observation and participatory field-based analysis, is typical of CDE's approach. CDE hosts the secretariat of WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) and is the lead institution for the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South. Within DESIRE, CDE is coordinating Research Theme 3.

Website

www.cde.unibe.ch

Address

Universität Bern, Centre for Development and Environment CDE

Hallerstrasse 10

3012 Bern

Switzerland

Tel: +41 31 631 88 22

Fax: +41 31 631 85 44

info@cde.unibe.ch

Institute logo

Involved personnel

Name	Contact details	Key qualifications	Photo
Prof. Dr. Hans Hurni	Tel: +41 31 631 88 22 E-mail: hans.hurni@cde.unibe.ch	President of the CDE board; Director of NCCR-NS; Professor of Geography at the University of Berne. Professional focus on natural resource management.
Dr Gudrun Schwilch	Tel: +41 31 631 54 59 E-mail: gudrun.schwilch@cde.unibe.ch	Senior research scientist / geographer. Head of Cluster Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services. Professional focus on sustainable land management and desertification mitigation.
Felicitas Bachmann M.A.	Tel: +41 31 631 85 83 Email: Felicitas.Bachmann@cde.unibe.ch	Senior Research Scientist / Social Anthropologist. Professional focus on learning for sustainability, social learning processes, development of training tools and approaches, sustainable resource management and sustainable development.
Dr. Hanspeter Liniger	Tel: +41 31 631 88 45 E-mail: Hanspeter.liniger@cde.unibe.ch	Senior Research Scientist, coordinator of WOCAT. Professional focus on evaluation of natural resource management and its local and regional impacts on water and soil productivity.

»Centre for Development and Environment (CH)

Gudrun Schwilch, Hans Hurni, Felicitas Bachmann, Hanspeter Liniger

... and all the study site teams

»Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (ES)	»Universidade de Aveiro (PT)
»Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (PT)	»University of Wales Swansea
»Agricultural University of Athens (GR)	»Democritus University of Thrace (GR)
»Eskişehir Osmangazi University (TR)	»UNESCO-GN Chair, University Mohammed V-Agdal, Rabat (MA)
»Institut des Régions Arides (TN)	»Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering (RU)
»Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)	»University of Botswana (BW)
»Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)	»Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CL)
»Instituto Nacional de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Agrário (CV)

• provides results from the single steps of the assessment and decision-making process in the study sites;
• identifies strengths and weaknesses of the methodology as well as challenges in its use.

In general, the feedback on the workshop methodology was positive. However, in some sites it was found too difficult to use it when working with participants with a low educational level.

The methodology was found challenging because of the following.

• Adaptation of options from other contexts: working with external options (from WOCAT DB) requires a good understanding of SLM principles and appropriate experience to properly adapt them to the local context.
• Decision support software: moderators must be clear about the potential and limitations of the Facilitator software to avoid false expectations and mistrust.
• Complexity of methodology: the consecutive steps which build on each other and the complexity of the methodology render its implementation challenging for all involved partners.
• Integration of the three components of the stakeholder workshop methodology: to make sure that the parts fit together some continuity is required from Workshop 1 to Workshop 2 regarding: composition of stakeholders that participate; SLM objectives focused on; selected options.

More details ... read on-line or download the full report
	Synthesis of all Stakeholder Workshops 2
	Synthesis of all Stakeholder Workshops 2

The selected measures presented here are the final result of the second stakeholder workshops. The detailed reports of these workshops and a synthesis will be provided in »Stakeholder Workshop 2: Synthesis report.

The list of measures includes the names, some specifications (if available), the type (agronomic, vegetative, structural, management or a combination thereof) and the land use type on which the measure will be applied.

Further details of implementation and monitoring can be found in the »Field experiments: design and implementation.

List of measures selected

• connecting stakeholders,
• analysing and synthesising experiences and setting directions,
• enhancing capacity knowledge,
• developing and applying standardized tools for documenting, monitoring, evaluating, sharing and using knowledge

More details ... go to the WOCAT website
	WOCAT website
	All WOCAT and WOCAT related publications including articles, papers, proceedings, presentations and posters are compiled in the WOCAT documentation database WOCAT Documentation Database
	Fully documented and evaluated sustainable land management technologies from study sites worldwide WOCAT Technologies Database
	Fully documented and evaluated sustainable land management approaches from study sites worldwide WOCAT Approaches Database

Stakeholder Workshop 1 identified a number of existing or potential strategies to combat desertification and land degradation in the each of the study sites. In the months following the workshop these strategies (technologies or approaches) were documented and evaluated in a structured and standardised way and their descriptions were entered in the WOCAT Technologies and Approaches databases in order to share the information with other DESIRE sites as well as globally.

For details of all Technologies and Approaches documented in the WOCAT Database (from the DESIRE study sites and from other sites worldwide), see

• WOCAT Technologies Database
• WOCAT Approaches Database

A total of 42 sustainable land management technologies and 20 sustainable land management approaches have been evaluated and documented by the DESIRE study sites. Click on the Name of technology or Name of approach to go directly to those descriptions in the database.

WOCAT Technologies Database

WOCAT Approaches Database

1. Guidelines for Stakeholder Workshop 2: Selection and decision on prevention and mitigation strategies to be implemented

2. Workshop support material

A variety of additional material (Facilitator software, database) is provided to support the workshops and the exercises. These are an essential to the workshop.

More details ... download the full Guidelines, Facilitator software and database
	WP3.3 Stakeholder Workshop 2: Guidelines [1.86 MB]
	WP3.3 Stakeholder Workshop 2: Facilitator software [3.65 MB] If Java is not available on your computer you should also download WP3.3 Java runtime environment for Facilitator software [14.27 MB]
	WOCAT database online

Summary

The training workshop was attended by 25 participants from 13 countries. 12 study sites from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Russia, Cape Verde, Morocco, Tunisia, Botswana and Chile were represented, as well as other working blocks and NGOs.

• Day 1 The main focus was on the review of the achievements made by the study sites regarding WP3.1 and WP3.2 (the first two steps of the methodology). Each study site presented a poster with the main results from their first stakeholder workshop and a progress bar regarding the documentation and evaluation of promising mitigation strategies. Thereafter, WP3.3 was introduced and the concept of the second stakeholder workshop presented. The participants received the guidelines and software and with the help of this material, the training allowed to conduct practical exercises with a high learning effect. All methodological steps were conducted in small groups, each focusing on one selected objective of one study site. Participants also got the chance to act as moderators and stakeholders during certain steps.
  Day 2 focused on the selection and definition of mitigation options based on a search in the WOCAT database, and the identification of criteria to score these options. The actual scoring was then done with the help of option cards placed on a scoring tool.
• Day 3 was dedicated to the use of the decision support tool, the analysis of the results and the final negotiation over which option to select for test implementation. Some time was also used to update the planning matrix of Research Theme 3 activities for each study site, to reflect the role of the study site team, and to have a look at the next working block engaged in implementation and monitoring.
• On Day 4, working block leaders and DESIRE coordinators joined the group for the excursion to the Rendina Basin, the Italian study site.

The training was well received by the participants. Everybody participated very actively and the outstanding group spirit from the Murcia training could be continued.

Brief summary

The DESIRE Research Theme 3 training workshop was attended by 21 participants from 12 DESIRE study sites in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, China, Russia, Cape Verde, Botswana, Mexico and Chile. The participants received the guidelines and material for the conduction of the stakeholder workshop 1 and the assessment of SLM strategies in advance. With the help of this material, the training allowed to conduct practical exercises with a high learning effect.

Participants also got the chance to act as moderators of certain exercises.

• Day 1 focused on a general introduction to Research Theme 3 methodology and the introduction to the
  objectives and the organisation of stakeholder workshop 1. This stakeholder workshop will
  be organized in each study site and aims at a mutual learning on land degradation and
  conservation and the identification of actual and potential solutions to mitigate desertification.
• Day 2 was conducted in the field and allowed to experience certain exercises in the
  Torrealvilla catchment of the Guadalentín basin (Spanish study site). A transect walk in two
  groups enabled to illustrate the disturbances of the water and the biomass cycle, their
  causes and impacts as well as their solutions.
• Day 3 aimed at identifying the stakeholders and at assessing locally applied solutions as well
  as potential strategies.
• Day 4 included field training on the documentation and evaluation of applied technologies
  and approaches in the Torrealvilla catchment. The 3 groups worked on the assessment of
  terraces, contour ploughing and check dams.
• Day 5 focused on the WOCAT database and the data review process. Enough time was also
  dedicated to the tentative planning of Research Theme 3 activities for each study site.

The training was well received by the participants. They all participated very actively and
developed an outstanding group spirit.

The evaluation involves the use of two questionnaires, one on sustainable land management technologies (QT) and the other on sustainable land management approaches (QA).

The questionnaires ask: (i) what are the specifications of the technology, and where is it used (natural and human environment), what impact does it have and (ii) how implementation of the approach was achieved and who achieved it. Each consists of three main parts:

• general information;
• specification of Technology/Approach;
• analysis of Technology/Approach.

There are eight steps in the procedure that should be followed to enable a standardised and comprehensive evaluation of the existing and potential prevention and mitigation strategies.

• Step 1: Get familiar with the questionnaires
• Step 2. Define technologies and approaches
• Step 3: Identify resource persons and documents
• Step 4. Fill in the questionnaire
• Step 5: Enter the data into the database
• Step 6: Review
• Step 7: Quality assurance
• Step 8: Provide English version to DESIRE

Experience has shown that certain questions tend to cause confusion or difficulty and careful questionning and checking in the Review step is needed to ensure that the information collected is reliable. Description of strategies following a standardised format has enabled a database of approaches and techniques to be developed from sites world-wide. The DESIRE strategies have been added to that database.

More details ... download the guidelines, questionnaires and supporting documents
	WP3.2 Guidelines for evaluation of strategies [1.83 MB]
	English WP3.2 Technology questionnaire [1.44 MB] Türkçe WP3.2 Technology questionnaire_TR [0.93 MB) Português WP3.2 Technology questionnaire_PT [0.86 MB] Español WP3.2 Technology questionnaire_ES [0.59 MB] Français WP3.2 Technology questionnaire_FR [0.73 MB] Chinese WP3.2 Technology questionnaire_CN [0.91MB]
	English WP3.2 Approach questionnaire [0.35 MB] Türkçe WP3.2 Approach questionnaire_TR [0.68 MB] Português WP3.2 Approach Questionnaire_PT [0.30 MB] Español WP3.2 Approach Questionnaire_ES [0.18 MB] Français WP3.2 Approach Questionnaire_FR [0.19 MB] Chinese WP3.2 Approach questionnaire_CN [0.30MB]
	WP3.2 Review process (469.36 kB)
	WP3.2 Format for description of strategies (10.39 kB)