Ebook: The Future of Drylands: International Scientific Conference on Desertification and Drylands Research Tunis, Tunisia, 19-21 June 2006
- Tags: Environment general, Climate Change, Environmental Management, Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity, Waste Water Technology / Water Pollution Control / Water Management / Aquatic Pollution
- Year: 2009
- Publisher: Springer Netherlands
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- pdf
Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts.
The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts.
The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts.
The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Republic of Tunisia....Pages 3-5
The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)....Pages 7-9
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)....Pages 11-12
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)....Pages 13-16
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)....Pages 17-18
The CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) System....Pages 19-20
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)....Pages 21-24
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction....Pages 25-28
United Nations University....Pages 29-31
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)....Pages 33-35
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador....Pages 37-38
The Future of Arid Lands – Revisited: Executive Summary....Pages 41-56
Policy Requirements to Combat Desertification....Pages 57-64
Interventions and Implementation Needs for Sustainable Dryland Development....Pages 65-70
Fifty Years of Personal Experience in Arid Land Studies....Pages 77-87
Livestock Genetic Diversity in Dry Rangelands....Pages 89-100
The Role of Megafauna Restoration in Dryland, Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation....Pages 101-113
Learning from Nature and Culture to Manage Nature Reserves: Experience from Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan....Pages 115-121
Traditional Knowledge and the World Databank for Safeguarding Ecosystems....Pages 123-143
Cultural Diversity in Ethiopia and Its Impact on Local Economies and Biodiversity....Pages 145-160
Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Indian Desert....Pages 161-170
The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Sector in the Drylands: A Promising Alternative for Sustainable Development and Combating Desertification in Tunisia....Pages 171-182
G-WADI – UNESCO's Global Network for Waterand Development Information for Arid Lands....Pages 189-198
Towards Sustainable Dryland Development in Africa: Integrating Groundwater and Land Management....Pages 199-208
Evolution of Pluviometric Regimes in Various Stations of the Northern Algerian Sahara....Pages 209-216
AQUIFER – Remote Sensing as Support for the Management of Internationally Shared Transboundary Aquifers in Africa....Pages 217-228
Desertification Control through Floodwater Harvesting: The Current State of Know-How....Pages 229-241
Modeling the Effect of Floodwater Spreading Systems on the Soil–Water Balance and Crop Production in the Gareh Bygone Plain of Southern Iran....Pages 243-254
Future of Drylands – An Overview of Evaluation and Impact Assessment Tools for Water Harvesting....Pages 255-267
Degraded Arid Land Restoration for Afforestation and Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Production through New Water Harvesting Mechanized Technology....Pages 269-282
Plant Diversity Changes in Response to Environmental Drivers and Pressures at El Omayed “ROSELT/OSS” Observatory, Egypt....Pages 289-309
Integrated Environmental and Socio-economic Modeling Using LEIS for Desertification Monitoring and Assessment in Menzel Habib Observatory (South Tunisia)....Pages 311-325
The Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) Project: Reflections on Indicators for Land Degradation Assessment....Pages 327-348
A New Toolkit for Monitoring and Forecasting Forage Supply in the Grazing Lands of Eastern Africa....Pages 349-358
Characterizing Dryland Post-grazing Change Trajectories on Santa Cruz Island, CA, with Multitemporal Landsat Data....Pages 359-371
Decision Support Systems for Water Resources Management in Dudhi and Bewas Watersheds, Madhya Pradesh, India....Pages 373-382
Soil Indicators of Rangeland Degradation in a Semi-arid Communal District in South Africa....Pages 383-393
Monitoring Drylands Ecosystem Dynamics for Sustainable Development Policies: The Keita Experience....Pages 395-407
Vegetative Propagation at Low Cost: A Method to Restore Degraded Lands....Pages 417-433
Linking Sustainable Indices and Climate Variability in the State of Ceara, Northeast Brazil....Pages 435-445
Conservation of Biodiversity of Nigerian Drylands....Pages 447-455
Impact of Land Use Conflict on Livelihood and Range Condition in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia....Pages 457-469
The Control of Sandstorms in Inner Mongolia....Pages 471-481
Desertification Control for Sustainable Land Use in the Cholistan Desert, Pakistan....Pages 483-492
Policy Analysis in Grassland Management of Xilingol Prefecture, Inner Mongolia....Pages 493-505
Combating Desertification through Fish Farming....Pages 507-518
Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of a Project to Combat Desertification in Drylands (Case Study in Central Western Tunisia)....Pages 519-531
Implementation of the Water Sensor Web for Floods and Droughts in South Africa....Pages 539-544
The Impact of Changing Environmental Conditions on Vulnerable Communities in the Shire Valley, Southern Malawi....Pages 545-559
Social Costs of Desertification in Africa: The Case of Migration....Pages 569-581
Legal Aspects of the Co-viability of Social and Ecological Systems in African Arid Zones: A Legal Anthropology Approach to Environmental Law....Pages 583-597
Integration of Regulation, Extension, Science, Policy and Monitoring Improves Land Management in the Rangelands of Western Australia....Pages 599-614
An Ecosystems Approach to Natural Resource Management in the Sahel....Pages 619-630
An Integrated Livelihoods-based Approach to Combat Desertification in Marginal Drylands....Pages 631-646
Conservation Agriculture Based on Direct Sowing....Pages 647-657
Introducing New Crops with High Water-Use Efficiency in the Middle East and North Africa....Pages 659-667
Findings of the Global Desertification Assessment by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – A Perspective for Better Managing Scientific Knowledge....Pages 677-685
The Unmet Challenge of Connecting Scientific Research with Community Action....Pages 687-697
Development and Management of Drylands: The Need for Adapted Education and Knowledge-Sharing....Pages 699-718
Participatory Land Degradation Assessment....Pages 719-729
Environmental Education from the Perspective of Sustainable Development: A Teaching Resource Kit for Dryland Countries....Pages 731-737
Environmental Education: An Alternative to Development in Drylands....Pages 739-746
Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD): Sharing Success Stories from Indigenous, Adaptive and Innovative Approaches....Pages 747-761
Innovations of an Indian Non-governmental Organization in Building the Capacity of People Inhabiting the Drylands....Pages 763-774
UNESCO's Experience of Fifty Years of Drylands Research and Outreach....Pages 775-786
Mr. Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO....Pages 789-789
H.E. Nadhir Hamada, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Republic of Tunisia....Pages 791-792
Vote of Thanks to His Excellency, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of the Republic of Tunisia....Pages 793-793
Back Matter....Pages 795-855
Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts.
The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Republic of Tunisia....Pages 3-5
The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)....Pages 7-9
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)....Pages 11-12
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)....Pages 13-16
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)....Pages 17-18
The CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) System....Pages 19-20
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)....Pages 21-24
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction....Pages 25-28
United Nations University....Pages 29-31
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)....Pages 33-35
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador....Pages 37-38
The Future of Arid Lands – Revisited: Executive Summary....Pages 41-56
Policy Requirements to Combat Desertification....Pages 57-64
Interventions and Implementation Needs for Sustainable Dryland Development....Pages 65-70
Fifty Years of Personal Experience in Arid Land Studies....Pages 77-87
Livestock Genetic Diversity in Dry Rangelands....Pages 89-100
The Role of Megafauna Restoration in Dryland, Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation....Pages 101-113
Learning from Nature and Culture to Manage Nature Reserves: Experience from Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan....Pages 115-121
Traditional Knowledge and the World Databank for Safeguarding Ecosystems....Pages 123-143
Cultural Diversity in Ethiopia and Its Impact on Local Economies and Biodiversity....Pages 145-160
Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Indian Desert....Pages 161-170
The Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Sector in the Drylands: A Promising Alternative for Sustainable Development and Combating Desertification in Tunisia....Pages 171-182
G-WADI – UNESCO's Global Network for Waterand Development Information for Arid Lands....Pages 189-198
Towards Sustainable Dryland Development in Africa: Integrating Groundwater and Land Management....Pages 199-208
Evolution of Pluviometric Regimes in Various Stations of the Northern Algerian Sahara....Pages 209-216
AQUIFER – Remote Sensing as Support for the Management of Internationally Shared Transboundary Aquifers in Africa....Pages 217-228
Desertification Control through Floodwater Harvesting: The Current State of Know-How....Pages 229-241
Modeling the Effect of Floodwater Spreading Systems on the Soil–Water Balance and Crop Production in the Gareh Bygone Plain of Southern Iran....Pages 243-254
Future of Drylands – An Overview of Evaluation and Impact Assessment Tools for Water Harvesting....Pages 255-267
Degraded Arid Land Restoration for Afforestation and Agro-Silvo-Pastoral Production through New Water Harvesting Mechanized Technology....Pages 269-282
Plant Diversity Changes in Response to Environmental Drivers and Pressures at El Omayed “ROSELT/OSS” Observatory, Egypt....Pages 289-309
Integrated Environmental and Socio-economic Modeling Using LEIS for Desertification Monitoring and Assessment in Menzel Habib Observatory (South Tunisia)....Pages 311-325
The Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) Project: Reflections on Indicators for Land Degradation Assessment....Pages 327-348
A New Toolkit for Monitoring and Forecasting Forage Supply in the Grazing Lands of Eastern Africa....Pages 349-358
Characterizing Dryland Post-grazing Change Trajectories on Santa Cruz Island, CA, with Multitemporal Landsat Data....Pages 359-371
Decision Support Systems for Water Resources Management in Dudhi and Bewas Watersheds, Madhya Pradesh, India....Pages 373-382
Soil Indicators of Rangeland Degradation in a Semi-arid Communal District in South Africa....Pages 383-393
Monitoring Drylands Ecosystem Dynamics for Sustainable Development Policies: The Keita Experience....Pages 395-407
Vegetative Propagation at Low Cost: A Method to Restore Degraded Lands....Pages 417-433
Linking Sustainable Indices and Climate Variability in the State of Ceara, Northeast Brazil....Pages 435-445
Conservation of Biodiversity of Nigerian Drylands....Pages 447-455
Impact of Land Use Conflict on Livelihood and Range Condition in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia....Pages 457-469
The Control of Sandstorms in Inner Mongolia....Pages 471-481
Desertification Control for Sustainable Land Use in the Cholistan Desert, Pakistan....Pages 483-492
Policy Analysis in Grassland Management of Xilingol Prefecture, Inner Mongolia....Pages 493-505
Combating Desertification through Fish Farming....Pages 507-518
Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of a Project to Combat Desertification in Drylands (Case Study in Central Western Tunisia)....Pages 519-531
Implementation of the Water Sensor Web for Floods and Droughts in South Africa....Pages 539-544
The Impact of Changing Environmental Conditions on Vulnerable Communities in the Shire Valley, Southern Malawi....Pages 545-559
Social Costs of Desertification in Africa: The Case of Migration....Pages 569-581
Legal Aspects of the Co-viability of Social and Ecological Systems in African Arid Zones: A Legal Anthropology Approach to Environmental Law....Pages 583-597
Integration of Regulation, Extension, Science, Policy and Monitoring Improves Land Management in the Rangelands of Western Australia....Pages 599-614
An Ecosystems Approach to Natural Resource Management in the Sahel....Pages 619-630
An Integrated Livelihoods-based Approach to Combat Desertification in Marginal Drylands....Pages 631-646
Conservation Agriculture Based on Direct Sowing....Pages 647-657
Introducing New Crops with High Water-Use Efficiency in the Middle East and North Africa....Pages 659-667
Findings of the Global Desertification Assessment by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – A Perspective for Better Managing Scientific Knowledge....Pages 677-685
The Unmet Challenge of Connecting Scientific Research with Community Action....Pages 687-697
Development and Management of Drylands: The Need for Adapted Education and Knowledge-Sharing....Pages 699-718
Participatory Land Degradation Assessment....Pages 719-729
Environmental Education from the Perspective of Sustainable Development: A Teaching Resource Kit for Dryland Countries....Pages 731-737
Environmental Education: An Alternative to Development in Drylands....Pages 739-746
Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD): Sharing Success Stories from Indigenous, Adaptive and Innovative Approaches....Pages 747-761
Innovations of an Indian Non-governmental Organization in Building the Capacity of People Inhabiting the Drylands....Pages 763-774
UNESCO's Experience of Fifty Years of Drylands Research and Outreach....Pages 775-786
Mr. Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO....Pages 789-789
H.E. Nadhir Hamada, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Republic of Tunisia....Pages 791-792
Vote of Thanks to His Excellency, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of the Republic of Tunisia....Pages 793-793
Back Matter....Pages 795-855
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