Monitoring and assessment of desertification, land degradation and drought: knowledge management, institutions and economics

White Paper of the DSD [Dryland Science for Development Consortium] Working Group 3. Partenaires : Association of DesertNet International ; United Nations University – Institute for Water, Environment and Health ; Dryland Science for Development Consortium.; International audience; Inadequate access to data and its harmonisation and dissemination, institutional constraints, and insufficient public finances all limit local and national capacities to monitor and assess desertification and land degradation. Furthermore, monitoring and assessment is often hindered by a lack of inter-departmental and sectoral communication and insufficient information on the costs associated with prevention and reversal of land degradation. This White Paper identifies the challenges and bottlenecks in the monitoring and assessment of desertification and land degradation in the context of knowledge management, institutions and economics. It discusses the challenges of integrating knowledge management and its practices into monitoring and assessment at various levels, and the need for doing so. It also outlines some success stories on knowledge management at the local level. This White Paper further looks at the economic and social drivers of desertification and land degradation, and how policy mechanisms are needed in order to address these issues and produce more sustainable outcomes. The findings of this Paper were presented at the First UNCCD Scientific Conference held during the COP-9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 22-24 September, 2009.