Desire for Greener Land

Case study of the DESIRE methodology – Yan River Basin,
China
(This case study is structured according to the 5 steps of DESIRE approach as explained in chapter 1)
I Establishing land degradation and SLM
context and sustainability goals
Socio-cultural, economic and environmental context
The Yan River catchment is situated on the Chinese Loess
Plateau and covers an area of 7680 km 2 .
Degradation problems: mainly water erosion (severe), also
wind erosion and vegetation degradation. Erosion and
water shortage are the main limiting factors.
Land use: arable farming, cash crops, grass, secondary forests
and vegetables
Geology and soils: mainly loess
Climate: semi-arid with about 500 mm per year
Existing conservation measures: mainly dams, terraces and
tree planting
Socio-economic situation: population density about 70
people/km 2 , income about 1600 Yuan (about 200 Euro) per
person. Mostly small farmers with increasing amount of offfarm
work.
Institutional and political setting: importance of policies like
‘Grain for Green Project’, which aim to replace cropland on
steep slopes with other land uses such as forest, grassland
or orchards.
Stakeholders, goals and drivers
The main stakeholder groups include government/project
staff, public administration, research centres and universities,
schools and land users. Eight sustainability goals were
defined, some examples are presented on the right.
Examples of identified drivers, their impact and the response
Protection of dryland farming areas
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Location of the Yan River Basin.
Sustainability goals
Goal 1 Reduction of soil erosion and runoff losses;
Goal 2 Improvement of the water use efficiency of precipitation;
Goal 6 Improvement of local socio-economic condition;
Goal 7 Reduction of sediment load of the Yellow River;
Drivers Impact Responses Policies
Easily eroded soil Soil erosion Revegetation, reforestation,
terracing, reduction of local
population
Inappropriate land management
(agriculture on steep slopes)
Soil erosion and land fragmentation Prohibit planting slopes steeper than
25 degree and impose a fine on
actions that provoke erosion
Regulations on the Protection of
Basic Farmland (1998-12-27),
Regulations on Conversion of
Farmland to Forests (2003-1-20)
Flood Control of The People’s
Republic of China (1998-1-1),
Law of the People’s Republic of
China on Prevention and Control of
Desertification (2002-1-1)
Climate change Water loss and shortage of soil water Terrace Law of The People’s Republic of
China on Water and Soil Conservation
(1991-6-29 issued, and 2010-12-25
revised)
DESIRE – WOCAT Desire for Greener Land