Desire for Greener Land

DRI = 5.4
Very high desertification risk
DRI = 4.4
High desertification risk
Figure 3: Landscapes in one landuse type with different
desertification risk.
vi Collating all the information from steps I-V, determine
current land degradation status, existing soil-water
conservation, and future land degradation risk
The result of the first methodological step described above
is a series of maps that document land degradation, as well
as conservation status. In addition, the information gathered
by the indicator questionnaire enables the related causes
and impacts of land degradation to be assessed. Collating
this information provides an informative picture of the
distribution and characteristics of land degradation and
conservation activities for a district, a province, a country, a
region and, ultimately, world-wide. It is from this point that
a three-part procedure for the identification, assessment
and selection of SLM strategies can be carried out.
II Identifying, evaluating and selecting SLM
strategies
Identifying SLM strategies, using a
participatory learning process
Introduction
Land owners and farmers have been managing their land
for centuries and, as a result, they often have a wealth of
SLM knowledge and experience, as well as demonstrating,
in some cases, truly innovative approaches to land management
challenges. Before envisaging new technical solutions
to combat desertification and land degradation, therefore,
it is of real value to examine what is already applied locally.
With this mind, it makes sense to listen to those people who
know the land best when looking to identify existing SLM
strategies. In other words, it is time to learn from the people
who work on and manage the land on a day-to-day basis.
Aims and objectives
The aim at this stage is to work with stakeholders to identify
promising SLM strategies for further assessment. Using a stakeholder
workshop and taking a collective learning approach to
this stage enables stakeholders to identify potential strategies
and, as a result, fosters a sense of participation and input into
the research process. In the case of the DESIRE project, a stakeholder
workshop in the local context was seen as a vital step
towards building a common vision of what can and needs to
be done to achieve more sustainable land management.
Within DESIRE, the workshop programme followed a logical
and consecutive sequence of specific exercises, each with its
own objectives, method, procedure, and expected results 13 .
Overall, the workshop objectives were as follows:
1. To initiate a mutual learning process among local and
external participants by sharing experience and jointly
reflecting on current and potential problems and solutions
regarding land degradation and desertification.
2. To create a common understanding of problems, potentials
and opportunities of the respective study site by
integrating external and internal perceptions.
3. To strengthen trust and collaboration among stakeholders.
4. To identify existing and new strategies to prevent or mitigate
land degradation and desertification.
5. To select strategies for further evaluation and documentation
with the WOCAT methodology.
China, Hanspeter Liniger Spain, Gudrun Schwilch
14 DESIRE – WOCAT Desire for Greener Land