ZEF Bonn

document and analyse the incidence of such disasters in a disaggregated fashion in
order to alert policy-makers regarding regional vulnerability shifts due to long-term
trends such as desertification or global climate change.
Land degradation is not a sudden event but a gradual process. The costs of preventing
land degradation are not high if action is taken early. Once severe, however,
and reclamation becomes economically prohibitive, the land must be abandoned.
Currently, a consistent loss in biological productivity is the general criterion employed
to distinguish degraded from non-degraded lands, and the degree of this loss
distinguishes among degradation classes. It is more of a confirmatory criterion for
degradation that has already occurred, since it cannot predict whether the land has
an inherent tendency to degrade. Late diagnosis adds to the cost of reclamation and
can make land practically irrecoverable, causing sustained environmental damage
and reducing the capacity to cope with disastrous events such as storms, floods or
landslides.
There is an urgent need to develop indicators that can predict the onset of desertification.
Rubio and Bochet (1998) have given a list of selection and evaluation criteria
that may be employed to develop an assessment system of land degradation/desertification
by means of indicators.
Solving or mitigating of land degradation will also require people's participation.
Blackburn and Holland (1998) define people participation as the full involvement of
local populations in the identification of problems and the seeking of solutions with
teams of scientists, planners, and development specialists. Participation gives local
people a chance to have a say in what takes place in their area in the name of
development (Rhoades, 1999). It considers people's aspirations and needs as an
integral part of the development agenda, which makes solutions 'demand-driven'
(Rhoades and Booth, 1982). This more general lesson is of central importance in
preventing long-term resource degradation and thus also the risks of exposure to
natural disasters.
Small holder vegetable production and
irrigation, Limpopo, South Africa
Essay
The involvement of local populations
in identifying problems
and seeking solutions with
specialists is crucial to preventing
long-term resource degradation
and risks of exposure to
natural disasters.
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