Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Evaluation of Land Degradation in Drylands: A Framework, Tools and Approaches for Local Level Assessment LADA-L versión 2 – Breve resumen de los principales insumos y mejoras al manual by Sally Bunning FAO-Rome Mendoza January 2009

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Main Objectives of LADA –Focus on local level To develop tools and methods to assess the magnitude and rate of LD and its impact on ecosystems at local level To carry out more detailed local level assessments of land degradation in the six pilot countries (Argentina, China, Cuba, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia) To build assessment and monitoring capacities in the countries to enable the design of appropriate mitigation interventions and sustainable land management practices

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local LADA-L manual specifies further its Objectives 1. To develop tools and methods for local land degradation assessments and analyses that are applicable in LADA pilot countries and more widely in dryland areas. 2. To conduct informative assessments that deliver an integrated understanding of the: biophysical and socio-economic causes and impacts of LD ; effectiveness of land management practices adopted to prevent or mitigate land degradation; and, elements of the institutional, economic and policy environment that need to be in place for sustainable land management (SLM)...e.g..links with NAP- UNCCD, agricultural and natural resources strategies etc

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local LADA-L manual specifies further its Objectives 3. To provide an integrated approach for assessing and monitoring land degradation and land improvement in country using representative pilot sites and national level assessments. 4. To recommend approaches for extrapolating between local and national level LADA assessments, considering as appropriate also wider regional and global status and trends. 5. To guide the presentation and reporting of LADA-L results in order to identify the most significant drivers of land degradation and priority policy responses to prevent or mitigate land degradation and promote SLM.

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Process- Learning By Doing Incorporating Knowledge, Experiences and Skills from the 6 pilot countries that cover a large share of drylands through –LADA-Local piloting in a range of dryland environments- and building capacity of LADA-L teams –experience sharing, training and review processes (workshops - UEA-UK, Tunisia, China-N, Argentina) Linking into UNCCD process - CST and key partners (OSS, UNEP, GEF SLM process Also working with CACILM countries

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local 3. Area Characterization and Identifying Households community, landscape, transects-land use, vegetation type, water (Status, Driving Forces, Pressures) 4. Understanding land degradation (LD) -soil erosion and effects on productivity and ecosystem services (Status) 5. Assessing the impact of LD on soil properties and production constraints (Impacts) 6. Measuring socio-economic influences on LD & impacts (Driving forces & Impacts) 1. Planning the assessment 2 Sampling- identifying assessment areas and sites 7. Analysis, identifying support interventions and reporting (Responses) How? Key steps of the LADA-L Assessment

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local More effective use of the Conceptual Framework Partly through applying the DPSIR framework - Driving forces of environmental change; Pressures on the environment; State of the environment; Impacts on population, economy, ecosystems; Response of the society. Here we need to think about what responses have been made and what responses are needed- recommendations considering also Ecosystem Services (ES) to the extent possible: - all benefits that humans receive from ecosystems including provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural services. These benefits can be direct (e.g. food production) or indirect, through the functioning of ecosystem processes that produce the direct services. (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL) approach which assesses livelihoods and well being in terms of five capital assets (human, physical, natural, financial, social) and vulnerablity.

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local

P - Productive services P1 - production (quantity + quality) incl. effects on biomass; and assoc. risks P2 – water (quantity + quality) for human consumption, animals and vegetation P3 – land availability E - Ecological services (regulating + supporting) E1 – the water cycle (hydrological regime) E2 – organic carbon content (soil/vegetation) E3 – soil cover (vegetation, mulch) E4 - structure of soil surface (e.g. crusting) E5 - nutrient cycling E6 - soil formation E7 - biodiversity E8 – effects on greenhouse gas emissions S - Socio-economic services + human well being S1 - spiritual, aesthetic, cultural landscape, heritage value, recreation, tourism S2 - education and knowledge (e.g. indigenous) S3 - conflicts S4 – food security, health and poverty S5 - infrastructure private and public (buildings, roads, dams, etc) Effects on Ecosystem Services – LADA N Suggested simple scoring system for assessing ecosystem services

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local The Basic Livelihoods Framework

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Main changes to the LADA -L manual Part 1: Methodological Approach, Planning and Analysis Part 2: Local Assessment: Tools and Methods for Fieldwork

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Part 1: Methodological Approach, Planning and Analysis- some Issues Land degradation control and restoration LDC/R  conservation and SLM measures Attention to assessing SLM – WOCAT technology inventory and 4 page summary Key informants interview on SLM Are we adequately capturing issues of interest to policy makers e.g. –effects of climate change and coping measures- adaptation and mitigation measures ? –effects of policies- biofuels, market strategies, etc.

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Fotos: H.P. Liniger Mitigation Prevention SLM Rehabilitation What are we looking at?

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local

Land-use 1 Land-use 2 Land-use 3 community/village Sampling scenario (communities within LUSs) Geographic Assessment Area km Study Area (representative of selected LUS containing several land use types – land use and management practices) Community territory Sample Sites for detailed assessment

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Transect 1 Transect 2 Characterizing the study area –biophysical and human aspects

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Initial Characterisation of Study Area Focus group discussion + community map, and wealth ranking exercises Transects - land use types, management practices, What is happening in the area? Where and Why? Overview of land degradation /SLM -types of land degradation -visual indicators of soil erosion -land use/vegetation degradation -water resources assessment

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local WOCAT National indicators W: Soil erosion by water Wt - loss of topsoil by water Wg - gully erosion Wm - mass movements Wr - riverbank erosion Wc- coastal erosion Wo - offsite effects (sediments, flooding...) Degradation of soils –chemical –biological –physical –hydrological What Land Degradation Types in Study Area E: Wind erosion Et - loss of topsoil by wind Ed - deflation and deposition Eo - offsite effects of wind erosion

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Examples WOCAT P: Physical deterioration of land Pc - compaction: by trampling or machinery- weight / frequent use Pk - sealing of pores and creation of impervious layer at soil surface obstructing infiltration of rainwater Pw - waterlogging, human induced hydromorphism (excl. paddy fields) Ps - subsidence of organic soils, settling of soil Pu - loss of bio-productive function due to construction, mining etc. V: Vegetation and biodiversity degradation Vr - reduction of vegetation cover Vs - quality & species composition decline Vq - reduced biomass/production due to clear felling, forest fire, etc H: Water resources degradation Ha - aridification /soil moisture problem Hp - water quality decline (pollution) Hq - water quantity decline (groundwater, surface water) Degradation Types cont.

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Climate Deterioration macro-climatic change and variability micro- climatic change and variability Land Conversion/Alienation Conversionof productive to unproductive land loss of productive land through quarrying/mining Closure/protected areas, controls on use of resources Converiosn to less productive forms of land use Pollution from inappropriate agricultural practices from poor control and managemnt of inductrial and mining wastes Additional Degradation Types

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local LADA-WOCAT Process: All the information is collected and evaluated by land users, experts in the area (soil,water agronomy, pasture...) and research. More involvement of land users- participatory Information Collection and Analysis

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Better use of secondary information Better use of maps, figures and diagrams Better use of Key Informants- what is working or not and why? What information do we need to gather during the transect exercise? Characterisation and Detailed assessments to capture information on Land Degradation - Productivity and Livelihood Interactions

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Transects:Information from informants Local criteria to differentiate LUT/land units, quality and constraints Settlement pattern, land fragmentation, etc. Management strategies and effects on land ressources Cropland: specialisation, rotations, fallows, weeds, crop residues Pasture/rangeland: burning, livestock movements, Forests/Woodlands: natural/planted spp., by individuals, communities, authorities, harvesting, management- coppicing etc. Wetlands and Water Issues- Water points, harvesting, Irrigation - Catchment management Conflicts/Issue of Access to Resources and Support Services Biodiversity conservation/sustainable use: all land use types SLM Successes and Constraints: Land tenure, etc. Extreme climatic events, evidence of climate change.....

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local Interviews and Field Forms Interview with land users Interview with Selected Households Interviews with key informants Analysis and reporting More guidance on how to structure and complete the report

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local LADA-L Outputs A trained multi-disciplinary team in each LADA country able to conduct LADA-L assessments beyond the LADA project and to support capacity building in the region. An information system/simple database for entry and storage of all quantitative and qualitative data generated by the assessments providing a benchmark and basis for monitoring changes/trends. At global level a LADA-L report with findings linking local and national assessments Printed outputs in the form of one or more book(s), posters, newsletters etc.

Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) – LADA Local LADA-L Outputs A tested/validated methodology and manual for conducting local land degradation assessments in dryland areas. Reports for each local assessment area. A national report combining the data from all the detailed land degradation assessments and extrapolating to give a picture of land degradation and SLM at national level. One or more policy briefing documents presenting key policy implications arising from the assessments