Desertification and land degradation: origins, processes and solutions

Table of Contents

1. Authors and acknowledgements
2. Introduction
   1. Aims
   2. Definitions and key concepts
   3. Synthesis of previous and ongoing projects
   4. Key issues and outline
3. Evolution of desertification in the Mediterranean
   1. Climatic fluctuation
   2. Human influence
4. Primary drivers of desertification
   1. Biophysical and socio-economic causes
   2. Pathways of desertification
   3. Driving forces in the Mediterranean
   4. Synthesis of causes for DESIRE hotspots
   5. Conclusions
5. Processes and consequences of desertification in the Mediterranean
   1. Socio-economic and political factors
   2. Biophysical processes
   3. Conclusions
6. Indicators: monitoring desertification
   1. History of monitoring
   2. Indicators
   3. Monitoring and mapping techniques
   4. Concluding remarks
7. Modelling desertification
   1. Definition of modelling
   2. Model types
   3. Biophysical modelling
   4. Socio-economic and participatory modelling
   5. Gaps and progression in modelling
8. Solutions
   1. Biophysical solutions
   2. Political and socio-economic solutions
9. References

Political and socio-economic solutions

While bio-physical solutions are important at the field level, these need to be embedded in an enabling environment. Without such an environment a certain solution may work perfectly in one area, but not at all in another, in spite of similar natural conditions. WOCAT (2007) defines this as the "Approach": "the ways and means of support that help introduce, implement, adapt and apply SWC technologies on the ground". This includes a variety of factors such as training and extension, markets, socio-cultural issues, participation, credit facilities, legislative and political issues, etc. Perhaps even more than with bio-physical measures, these "approaches" consist most often of a combination of different measures and are often framed in a project or programme strategy. It is therefore difficult to highlight specific single solutions in this respect but a few important elements can be highlighted:

• Incentives can be used to solicit or enhance the support of local stakeholders. They may vary from straight payments (subsidy) for services delivered to in-kind contributions of seeds or other materials. Food-for work is another incentive strategy that was widely used by the World Food Programme in Ethiopia in the 1970's. There is a risk with this type of incentives of "buying" peoples participation rather than make them feel responsible for the end results. Free training and extension can also be considered a form of incentive and may contribute more to this feeling of ownership - see also next point.
• Participation of local stakeholders can play an important role in making a solution a success or a failure. Various levels of participation can be distinguished from passive (e.g. only being informed) through active - with or without payment - to self-mobilisation. It is generally believed that with higher levels of active participation, the chance of successful solutions also increases, though contradictory examples can be found on either side.
• Training and extension Broadly speaking, there are three forms of extension and training (WOCAT 2007):
  • The 'multiple strategy'. This is what is adopted by the majority of the project/ programme-based approaches. It includes several or all of the following: awareness-raising, training workshops and seminars around specific themes, exposure visits, hands-on training, and the use of demonstration plots.
  • The second main form is based on informal farmer-to farmer extension and exchange of ideas. Here projects assist through facilitating exchange between farmers: for example by enabling farmers to visit each other for mutual learning.
  • The third is centred on the use of trained 'local promoters'. These are basically local farmers who are trained to become facilitators/ extension workers under a project.

In many developing countries formal extension services are in place, that may not exist as such in Europe, where commercial agricultural consultants may provide (paid) advice to the farmers, but increasingly the use of Internet and other media helps to spread the implementation of appropriate solutions.

• Land tenure and land use rights can have a great impact on the uptake of specific measures. In many countries land users are reluctant to make long-term improvements to their land because they have no security of the land, or to be seen as putting an (illegal) claim on the land. There is a broad consensus that more land security enhances the chance of success of measures to control degradation.
• Research can be a very effective instrument for inventing new solutions or improving old ones, or to determine the suitability of specific measures for specific locations. It may support or defy certain assumptions and preconceptions that form the basis of many promoted solutions. Research also increases the understanding of the underlying processes and driving factors and it exposes and fills knowledge gaps (Liniger and Douglas, 2004)