INVESTIGADORES
ABRAHAM Elena Maria
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
EVALUATION OF LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION: IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION IN ARGENTINA
Autor/es:
ABRAHAM, E; ABRIL, ERNESTO GUILLERMO ; BRAN, DONALDO ; CASTRO, MORA ; CORSO, MARIA LAURA ; CUEVA, JOSÉ ; MACCAGNO, PATRICIA ; MACEIRA, NÉSTOR ; MAGGI, ALEJANDRO ; MASSOBRIO, MARCELO ; PIETRAGALLA, VANINA ; RUBIO MARÍA CECILIA
Lugar:
Cancun
Reunión:
Conferencia; 3rd UNCCD Scientific Conference "Combating desertification, land degradation and drought for poverty reduction and sustainable development",; 2015
Institución organizadora:
UNCCD
Resumen:
Rationale Land degradation is a widespread phenomenon in almost all ecosystems in Argentina. It is mainly caused by overuse of rangelands, agricultural expansion, agriculturalization, and deforestation (LADA-FAO, 2011; Manuel-Navarrete et al., 2005). Several initiatives have successfully addressed this problem in various regions of Argentina (LADA-FAO, 2011; INTA-GTZ, 1995). These projects highlight the need for efforts toward coordinated assessment, monitoring, and mitigation strategies of land degradation and desertification at the national level. To this end, the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development (SAyDS), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), the Argentina Institute for Arid Zone Research (IADIZA), the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), and two national universities founded the National Observatory of Land Degradation and Desertification (ONDTyD) in 2011. Its main objective is to establish a national network for permanent bio-physical and socio-economic monitoring and assessment of land degradation and desertification in order to better inform decision making and policy development in land-use planning and management (Pietragalla et al., 2013). Methods used and partnership set up The founding institutions of the ONDTyD presented the project and established its organization and the internal regulation. These institutions are all part of the steering committee and work together with other agencies on the advisory council. Several national workshops were launched to create networks linking the political, scientific, and technological sectors at regional and national levels as well as non-governmental organizations working on this issue. In addition to building partnerships, members of the network designed the methodology for the national system of monitoring and assessment. The system is based on the experience of Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands in Argentina (LADA-FAO, 2011) and the system of integrated assessment of desertification (Abraham et al., 2006) as well as many other related projects, including ones in Patagonia (INTA-GTZ, 1995). Figure 1 shows the methodology, which was agreed upon by ONDTyD?s steering committee and the advisory council. It is characterized by a participatory and holistic approach that considers local, regional, and national levels. The scheme highlights the importance of pilot sites in generating local information that can be extrapolated to regional level. It also shows the role of the members of the steering committee and the advisory council, who are in charge of compiling and reporting data at the national level and directing work on specific topics. Together they are the primary actors in the ONDTyD. Results Currently, 17 pilot sites are working in coordination to monitor and assess bio-physical and socio-economic indicators of land degradation, which represent almost all of Argentina?s ecosystems. In order to acquire comparable data, a minimum set of biophysical and socio-economic indicators were selected through a local and national participatory process (fig. 1). Each study site also monitors specific indicators to local degradation processes and socio-economic impacts. The socio-economic indicators that the pilot sites must report are organized into the following categories of capital: human (e.g., education completion rates, illiteracy rates, local rates of principal illnesses), social (e.g., participation of herders and farmers in civil organizations, social programs), physical (housing quality, forms of land ownership, household access to water), and financial (household income, access to government subsidies or credits). A specific field survey was developed for collecting this data. Bio-physical assessment and monitoring at the pilot sites is carried out at different levels. It consists of a field survey on the state of water and wind erosion, soils, and vegetation. It also involves establishing at least five monitoring plots at each pilot site, in which soil, vegetation, and water trends are monitored. Each site quantifies wind erosion with sediment samplers and will acquire a weather station. The bio-physical study is completed through the analysis of satellite images. At the national scale, members of the ONDTyD deliver the two impact indicators required by the UNCCD: land cover status and proportion of population living below the poverty line. A current study shows the temporal trends in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), based on MODIS sensor data for 2000-2014. Selected socio-economic indicators and indices are being developed. These results are presented with general information, interactive maps, and an opensource server for sharing geospatial data on http://www.desertificacion.gob.ar. Outcomes The National Observatory of Land Degradation and Desertification is a successful example of a partnership built across political, scientific, and technological sectors in Argentina. More than 30 institutions and 150 professionals all over Argentina are part of the network and create close links between sectors during assessment and monitoring, all of which produces knowledge that feeds directly into the policy process. The activities of the ONDTyD are of particular interest in achieving UNCCD?s mandates, especially in presenting required indicators. Notably, it has attracted great interest and financial support from non-governmental organizations.