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Providing local solutions to global sustainable land management problems

17 study sites have been identified, from southern Europe, southern America, Africa, Russia and China, covering a wide range of problems from soil erosion by wind or water, to salinisation and droughts or flash floods. These study sites were the global laboratory for researchers to apply both tested conservation techniques and remediation measures, and find new and innovative approaches to combat desertification.

The project will take a similar path in each study site, starting with the desertification context »Starting point. This is the description and mapping of the site, outlining the particular desertification problems. Measurements or descriptions can be used as land degradation indicators (»Assessment with land degradation indicators) for understanding and monitoring desertification processes. Suggested »Potential prevention and mitigation strategies to help and prevent desertification have been chosen through workshops, with scientists and local people. The chosen strategies are being tried out, and »Implementating and monitoring field trials will tell us how well the new ideas are working. »Regional remediation strategies, over a larger area, will develop models that look at how grazing, fire and wind erosion affect desertification and how they can be controlled. »Facilitating dissemination presents the results of the DESIRE project with different types of information for a wide range of possible users. This Harmonised Information System is an important part of our dissemination activities.