Science for improving the monitoring and assessment of dryland degradation

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification commissioned its First Scientific Conference in 2009 to deliberate on ways to improve the global monitoring and assessment of dryland degradation and sustainable land management to support decision-making. Twelve analytical papers included in this issue of Land Degradation and Development were prepared by conference working groups, elaborating the reasoning behind the eleven recommendations that were formally submitted to the Convention. These papers argue for a more holistic, harmonized and integrated approach to dryland monitoring and assessment, and describe scientific methodologies and institutional mechanisms for achieving this goal. A central challenge is to integrate the monitoring and assessment of human and environmental parameters as required to meet the Convention¿s view that dryland degradation, and the effort to combat it are fundamentally connected to sustainable development. The creation of a Global Drylands Observing System is recommended to gather and analyze relevant data on a routine basis and provide its findings to the Convention through a formal scientific advisory mechanism. The System must be flexible enough to allow locally-relevant indicators to be observed, aggregating them into meaningful classes at larger scales. In addition to visible symptoms of land condition, the driving forces causing that condition should also be monitored and assessed so that effective remedial actions can be planned, including social, economic, policy, institutional and knowledge drivers. The monitoring and assessment of sustainable land management strategies should engage national and local stakeholders, hybridize their knowledge and enable them to initiate actions to combat dryland degradation.

WINSLOW Mark;  VOGT Juergen;  THOMAS Richard;  SOMMER Stefan;  MARTIUS Christopher;  AKHTAR-SCHUSTER Mariam; 

2011-04-27

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

JRC59301

1085-3278,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC59301,   

10.1002/ldr.1044,