Cross‐scale monitoring and assessment of land degradation and sustainable land management: A methodological framework for knowledge management

Abstract

For land degradation monitoring and assessment (M&A) to be accurate and for sustainable land management (SLM) to be effective, it is necessary to incorporate multiple knowledges using a variety of methods and scales, and this must include the (potentially conflicting) perspectives of those who use the land. This paper presents a hybrid methodological framework that builds on approaches developed by UN Food & Agriculture Organisation's land degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA), the World Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) programme and the Dryland Development Paradigm (DDP), and is being applied internationally through the EU-funded DESIRE project. The framework suggests that M&A should determine the progress of SLM towards meeting sustainability goals, with results continually and iteratively enhancing SLM decisions. The framework is divided into four generic themes: (i) establishing land degradation and SLM context and sustainability goals; (ii) identifying, evaluating and selecting SLM strategies; (iii) selecting land degradation and SLM indicators and (iv) applying SLM options and monitoring land degradation and progress towards sustainability goals. This approach incorporates multiple knowledge sources and types (including land manager perspectives) from local to national and international scales. In doing so, it aims to provide outputs for policy-makers and land managers that have the potential to enhance the sustainability of land management in drylands, from the field scale to the region, and to national and international levels. The paper draws on operational experience from across the DESIRE project to break the four themes into a series of methodological steps, and provides examples of the range of tools and methods that can be used to operationalise each of these steps.

Developing robust field survey protocols in landscape ecology: a case study on birds, plants and butterflies

“…To collect reliable data using limited resources, ecologists thus face a trade-off between the number of survey sites and the number of repeated surveys at each sample site (Bried et al 2011;Reed et al 2011;Reynolds et al 2011;Bailey et al 2007;Suarez-Seoane et al 2002;Guillera-Arroita and Lahoz-Monfort 2012;Guillera-Arroita et al 2010). One tool to investigate tolerable information loss when survey effort is reduced is to evaluate the statistical power of the different survey designs (Field et al 2005;Legg and Nagy 2006;Bailey et al 2007;Vellend et al 2008;Guillera-Arroita and Lahoz-Monfort 2012;Sewell et al 2012).…”

Pastoralists’ Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana

“…Pastoralists' perception and ecological knowledge of vegetation changes are often ignored (Roba and Oba 2009) despite the debate about their role in rangeland degradation (Butt 2010). Yet, pastoralists are known to have extensive ecological knowledge (Berkes et al 2000, Ladio andLozada 2009) which could complement scientific knowledge (Oba and Kotile 2001) and contribute to improved understanding and sustainable management of savanna ecosystems (Reed et al 2011). …”

Soil and Water Conservation Strategies in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) and Their Impacts on Livelihoods: An Overview from the Ribeira Seca Watershed

“…There is general consensus that success in combating land degradation and natural resource management can best be achieved with active involvement of affected populations in developing solutions, leveraging their knowledge and experiences and combining them with the knowledge of researchers and managers in all planning steps [10,[29][30][31][32][33][34].…”