Desertification and land degradation: origins, processes and solutions: a literature review

Authors: Jantiene E.M. Baartman, Godert W.J. van Lynden, Mark S. Reed, Coen J. Ritsema and Rudi Hessel

Desertification can be seen as a specific type of land degradation, occurring mainly, but not exclusively, in dryland regions. It is, for several reasons, almost impossible to give an accurate description of the severity and extent of desertification in the world. Despite extensive research, lack of good information on extent and severity of land degradation in drylands still hampers attempts to determine its significance (Dregne, 2002). It is generally accepted that a variety of both natural (climate; biophysical characteristics) and human-induced (land use; socio-economic) factors play a role in he occurrence of land degradation. Also, most scientists agree that participation of local stakeholders (e.g. farmers, local government etc.) is of key importance in the development and implementation of possible solutions. However, often the effects of solutions are not as successful as expected and new, alternative land use and management strategies need to be developed with the experiences of older strategies in mind. The review is strongly focused on the Mediterranean area – as is the DESIRE project - but its scope is not exclusively limited to it.

The aims of the review are: (1) to give an overview of existing knowledge on desertification from published results of former projects and research; (2) to assess the evidence of desertification; and (3) to indicate gaps in the existing knowledge.

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	Desertification and land degradation: origins, processes and solutions. A literature review
	Desertification and land degradation: origins, processes and solutions. A literature review (5.01 MB)