The Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought

Finally, the global assessment of DLDD and its costs should systematically review the institutions that
determine the actions of stakeholders involved, from local land users to national governments and
international institutions. An increasing body of information and knowledge on the causes, effects,
and costs of DLDD must ultimately translate into appropriate action plans.
Which Type of Capacity Must Be Represented in the Scientific Body?
Past studies have tended to be specialized and have, in the process, produced rigorously analyzed
results that have informed researchers in other disciplines. Table 7.1, though not exhaustive, gives
some examples of organizations that have performed research, and the strengths that can be tapped in
the new partnership. As Table 7.1 shows, a large number of organizations are conducting research on
terrestrial ecosystems. The collection of the biophysical data of terrestrial ecosystems is especially
significant, even with the weaknesses discussed below. The collection of socioeconomic data is weak,
because only a few institutions are collecting such socioeconomic data, mainly because a great deal of
important socioeconomic data cannot be captured. Partnership with institutions that collect
socioeconomic data will help reduce data collection costs and institutionalize E-DLDD. This
partnership will fully use the existing data collection resources. A large number of countries routinely
conduct household surveys (see, for example, the list of household surveys conducted worldwide at
the International Household Survey Network, www.internationalsurveynetwork.org). These
socioeconomic household surveys have recently been georeferencing respondents, making it easy to
link such data to the biophysical data collected by satellite. However, the household survey data do
not include good biophysical data. Thus, one objective of partnering with the bureau of statistics
would be to include survey modules that collect good biophysical data.
Table 7.1—Partnerships and the role and strengths of partners in conducting global E-DLDD
Soil erosion and
wind erosion; soil
nutrient depletion
Major organizations that have
conducted global assessments
FAO, UNCCD, ISRIC, UNEP, Global
Mechanism, UNFCCC
122
Strengths Prospective role 1
Global assessment and longterm
biophysical data
collection; publicly available
data
Biodiversity CBD, GEF, Biodiversity, UNEP, TEEB As above; TEEB also
collected and analyzed
Loss of
vegetation and
other forms of
land degradation
Cost of
environmental
degradation
Drought
monitoring
Soil health
surveillance
Agriculture and
environmental
monitoring
economic data.
U.S. NOAA and other satellites Global assessment, with
high-resolution, long-term
data; relatively cheap data
World Bank, UNEP; universities (for
example, Wageningen University,
Texas A & M, University of Bonn,
University of Maryland, Université
Catholoquie Lovain/Universiteit
Leuven)
collection
Rigorous assessment of case
studies; development of
theoretical framework of
assessment
World Meteorological Organization Early warning and forecast;
global data
AFSIS: 60 sentinel sites; a spatially
stratified, hierarchical, randomized
sampling site of 100 km 2 Collection and analysis of
land and water management
, representing data, which is essential for
major ecosystems in Sub-Saharan promoting, protecting, and
Africa. Data at
restoring land, water, and
http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/ ecosystem health
odbl/1.0.
Various organizations (see Table 7.2) Specialized data on
anthropogenic ecosystems
(agroecosystems) and natural
ecosystems. Many indicators
used. Many organizations
share data freely.
All roles, with
varying degrees of
focus
All roles, with
varying degree of
focus
5, 7
1, 5, 6, 7
5, 6, 7
5, 7
5, 7