Work Block 1 Coordinator: Godert van Lynden, ISRIC, NL

Draft. This introduction to be updated so that it provides information about the desertification context globally and in Europe (rather than being an introduction to what WB 1 will do) and a photo added.

Numerous studies have been undertaken to assess and/or model the extent and impact of desertification in the Mediterranean region or broader. These studies have investigated different aspects of degradation and desertification, including studies into the physical processes that are operating, studies into the socio-economical and political drivers that cause desertification and studies on the consequences of desertification.

Regarding the processes that are operating, attention has been paid, among others to soil erosion, forest fires, vegetation degradation, climate change and salinisation. Of these processes, soil erosion probably received the most attention. It has been studied in many places around the Mediterranean, and also at multiple scales, ranging from plot studies to national and even continental estimates. To build upon existing information, DESIRE will make use of the knowledge that has already been gathered in the past. In particular, WB1 will assemble as much existing information as possible, from both within and outside the DESIRE consortium.

The DESIRE project encompasses a set of 18 study sites around the globe that each are affected by one or more desertification related problems. These areas have been investigation by various partners within the consortium for a number of years. Inevitably, different methodologies are used and different types of information gathered. An important objective of this WB is to inventorize the areas and make a first series of desertification maps based on the available information.