The sun sets on one GEF’s flagship Global Projects - the Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA)
By Aziza Akhatova, GEF JPA, and Mohamed Bakarr, Sr. Environmental Specialist
During the third replenishment phase when desertification was still being discussed for consideration as a global issue for the GEF, it became clear that there was a need to increase understanding of the causes, extent and distribution of land degradation around the world. For a long time, estimates as to the extent and impact of land degradation were either unreliable or very conflicting. The uncertainty and lack of quality data was undermining appropriate policy responses. To tackle this challenge, in 2006, UNEP and FAO launched the global initiative - Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA), with $7 million grant from the GEF and $8 million in co-financing. The LADA project was designed with two principal objectives: a) to develop and implement strategies, methods and tools to assess, quantify and analyze the nature, extent, severity and impacts of land degradation (desertification) on ecosystems, watersheds and river basins, and carbon storage in drylands at a range of spatial and temporal scales; and b) to build national, regional and global assessment capacities to enable the design, planning and implementation of interventions to mitigate land degradation and establish sustainable land use and management practices. After almost five years of implementation, the terminal evaluation for LADA was completed in May 2011, which makes it an opportune time to reflect on how far along we are with tackling the knowledge and methodological limitations for combating desertification. During the period of implementation, several important milestones were reached in the GEF for sustainable land management financing. First, the GEF Operational Program on SLM (OP12) was launched and later consolidated into the new dedicated Land Degradation Focal Area. Second, several regional and country flagship programs were financed by the GEF to advance implementation of SLM, such as the Strategic Investment Program for SLM in sub-Sahara Africa (SIP/TerrAfrica). Third, the Land degradation Focal Area was included in the new System for a Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR), which enabled 144 eligible countries to have individual allocations for investing in SLM. More recently at the 4th GEF Assembly, the GEF Instrument was amended to list the UNCCD among the Conventions for which the GEF plays the role of financing mechanism. These developments in the GEF have played an important role in mainstreaming investment opportunities for SLM, including links to global development priorities such as food security, poverty reduction, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, FAO and its partners under the LADA project updated the Global Assessment of Human-Induced Soil Degradation (GLASOD) information with a new Global Land Degradation Assessment (GLADA) that generated trends at country level. GLADA was later superseded by a Global Land Degradation Information System (GLADIS), which combines aspects of biomass, soil health, water resources, biodiversity, economic production, and social and cultural wealth. These global level tools are helping to shed light on the global nature of land degradation, including the need for collective action at multiple scales. LADA also included in six pilot countries where FAO collaborated with national institutions to develop and apply methods for local and national level assessments. In each of the pilot countries - Argentina, China, Cuba, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia - LADA followed a decentralized, country-driven and integrated approach. The approach also employed participatory rural appraisals, expert assessment, field measurements, remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), modeling and other modern technological means of data generation and processing. An important achievement at this level was “Questionnaire for Mapping Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management” (QM). QM enabled the construction of databases in some of the countries with background information on the different Land Use Systems (LUS), as well as environmental and social data per geographical area. At the local level, LADA developed a comprehensive toolbox approach that integrates attention to socio-economic drivers of land degradation with the bio-physical characterization of the process. These methods, particularly the visual soil, water and vegetation assessment are relatively inexpensive and easy to apply in the field by land users, making them also tools of choice for monitoring purposes. The project complimented field activities with capacity building in order to create and gradually consolidate a sound understanding of the methodology and its meaningful adaptation to the specific conditions of each country. Numerous international, regional and national workshops and trainings, as well as virtual (online) forums were organized, bringing a large number of stakeholders together. As a result, more than 40 countries have already been reached by the project, which translates to some extent into up- and out-scaling of the methodology and approach. For example, in South Africa and Argentina, local land degradation assessments were integrated into sub-national planning processes. In South Africa the national assessment data was also used to develop a Natural Resource Management strategy for the North West Province. In the Minqin oasis in the northwest China, the results of exhaustive LADA local assessment have been discussed with the Shinyang River Basin Authority that intends to adjust its strategy based on them. The project also contributed to a systematic compilation of SLM models or any technological and social practices that contribute to reversing land degradation in drylands. The result is a “catalogue of best practices” that practitioners and professionals can consult, and which has a high potential for promoting networking and knowledge sharing. With LADA now completed, these contributions are clear evidence that its legacy in advancing SLM at all levels will endure. There is no doubt that establishment of a standardized and more objective methodological framework for land degradation assessment at different spatial and temporal scales will continue to inform policy and investment options, while at the same time inspiring innovations by others. Link: http://www.fao.org/nr/lada/
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