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Introduction
IDENTIFYING BEST PRACTICE IN COMMUNITY-BASED SUSTAINABLE LAND
MANAGEMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Land degradation is a serious problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, where up to two-thirds of the productive land area
may be affected. Over 3% of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) is lost annually as a direct result of soil and
nutrient loss from poor land management practices, with associated economic costs estimated at US$9 billion per
year. Communities suffer acutely from the resulting food and energy insecurity and foregone investments in social
services and infrastructure.
The drivers of unsustainable land management practices are complex, and practical policy responses require the
active engagement of local communities and civil society organizations. Unfortunately, previous interventions to
halt land degradation have tended to suffer from top-down planning processes, where land users are not actively
involved in identifying problems and finding solutions. Many interventions have been sector-based, such as
high-input approaches to increase agricultural production. These have met with limited success in addressing
what is a multi-dimensional problem, and have typically minimized community participation.
However, in recent years, the essential role of local and indigenous communities in sustainable land management has come
to greater prominence. For example, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification explicitly recognizes the important
role of community participation in sustainable land management and the fight against desertification. There is consensus
now that local civil society groups and community-based organizations can provide a vehicle for local level experiences
to contribute to an improved understanding of sustainable land management and to inform land management policies.
What is required now is an effort to: i) identify and raise the profile of leading community-based sustainable land
management solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, ii) fill local capacity gaps, and iii) strengthen the voices of local and
indigenous communities in a way that ensures that local civil society organizations contribute to the development
of pro-poor, sustainable land management policies.
In furtherance of this, the Equator Initiative partnership will lead a process to identify examples of local ingenuity,
innovation and leadership in sustainable land management in Sub-Saharan Africa. Building on the experience of
the Equator Prize, and working through its network of global partners, the Equator Initiative will recognize and
raise the profile of community efforts to reduce poverty through sustainable land management. Themes of the
prize are likely to include:
• the integrated management of international river, lake and hydrogeological basins;
• agroforestry and soil conservation;
• rangelands use and fodder crops;
• ecological monitoring, natural resource mapping, remote sensing, and early warning systems;
• new and renewable energy sources and technologies;
• sustainable agricultural farming systems.
The process of selecting winners will be used to collect information to better understand how the interaction between
policies, political processes and poverty reduction influences innovation and successful initiatives at the local level.
Community-Based Sustainable Land Management: Best Practices in Drylands from the Equator Initiative
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