Team Members

The UNU-INWEH hosted experts from 11 countries, who gathered in Hamilton (11-13 August 2004) to discuss policies and management approaches to combat desertification. This dialogue was based on the information gathered within the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) process and will lead to formulation of a synthesis report. The MA is a global assessment that focuses on consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and options for responding to those changes.

Over two billion people live in drylands, which occupy more than 40% of the global land area. These drylands are under increasing threat of desertification – a process of persistent decrease in ecosystem benefits to the human society. A vast majority of people living in drylands suffer from poverty and poor access to health and social services. It is thought that these conditions lead to human suffering, and often, displacement of people.

Many factors contribute to the plight of people and ecosystems in drylands, including population growth, local and global economic stresses, and use of inappropriate technologies and management approaches. Appropriate and locally-sensitive policies and interventions, supported by relevant capacity building, can be implemented to ameliorate the situation.

By exploring response options, the MA desertification synthesis report addresses the concerns and needs of the parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. It particularly highlights the respective roles of the developed and developing countries. During the two-day meeting at the UNU-INWEH, the MA expert team developed a first draft of the report, which will undergo an open review process by other experts and governments. It is anticipated that the final report will be available by the summer of 2005.

The synthesis report also benefits from UNU-INWEH’s ongoing research and capacity-building projects in drylands. These include a four-year community-based research project on sustainable management of marginal drylands (SUMAMAD), which is being implemented in cooperation with UNESCO and ICARDA. It evaluates eight study sites in North Africa and Asia. The UNU has also recently launched a cooperative Master’s Degree Program for dryland managers, with courses offered in Tunisia and China. A number of researchers have also been funded by UNU to investigate the effectiveness of traditional water management practices in drylands.