1. General discussion on local assessment process suggestions by countries Lehman Lindeque

2. Where are we going? Aims and objectives of LADA Project LADA – L outputs: –Trained multi-disciplinary team –Information system / database –LADA report with a link between national and local assessments. –Printed outputs Methodology and manual Reports on each assessment National report combining data from different assessments Policy briefings

3. Some issues raised earlier Move from LD/R to conservation and SLM WOCAT 4 page summary to assess SLM Interviewing key informants on SLM Are we adequately capturing issues of interest to policy and decision-makers? Where to do what? Prevention, mitigation, rehabilitation, adaptation (distinguish degradation from badlands)

4. Summary of lessons learnt from country experiences –Use of different methods and techniques (not in manual) –How strictly do we have to follow the described methods and techniques? Argentina vs China.... –The use of previous and existing information vs collecting new information –How do we define hot and bright spots? (Fenceline effect, satellite imagery, LADA – N)

5. Summary continues... Countries using different indicators - move towards standard set of indicators with different methods and techniques to collect data? Importance of training assessment team Importance of learning from experiences Area of assessment 8km² vs 86km² and time 2 days vs two weeks DPSIR framework is working well to analyse data

6. Summary continues... Lack of assessment of institutional structures and the influence of policies Section on wind erosion Soil survey from grass and scrub land Level of detail from some indicators: measure vs info from interviews More indicators to measure change in trend (more dynamic indicators)

7. Summary continues... Transect selection – reconnaissance survey Careful not to “over research” a specific area Link between National and Local Assessment? Where does WOCAT 4 page summary fit in?

8. Summary continues... Issue of scale for assessment and link to detail of assessment (how detail should local be?) Hot and bright spot in the same area? Doing VS-Fast method in the field Manual a recipe or a box of tools?