Identification of potential areas for out-scaling sustainable land management options in West Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia
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Feras M. Ziadat, Mira Haddad, Theib Oweis, Akmal Akramkhanov. (24/7/2015). Identification of potential areas for out-scaling sustainable land management options in West Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia. Istanbul, Türkiye.
Abstract
Water scarcity and land degradation are among the
most important factors affecting agricultural production and
sustainability in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region and
in Central Asia (CA). Various sustainable land management (SLM)
technologies that help conserve and better use natural resources and
hence improve the incomes and livelihoods of farmers are available
and being adapted to these regions. However, to achieve better
adoption by farmers and to ensure positive results from
implementation, the SLM technologies in WANA and CA need to be
disseminated on a large scale. Identifying the potential areas to target
the implementation of selected SLM practices is necessary to help
decision makers and facilitate the out-scaling process. With participation of specialists from the National Agriculture
Research Systems, three agro-ecosystems, rangeland, irrigated, and
rainfed, were defined for the WANA region, and the mountain agroecosystem
was added for CA. Each agro-ecosystem was represented
by a benchmark site where selected SLM technology was
demonstrated. In WANA, these benchmark sites included the water
harvesting Vallerani system (contour ridges and semicircular bunds)
for rangeland, water-saving (raised-beds and deficit irrigation) for
irrigated, and supplemental irrigation for rainfed agro-ecosystems. In
CA, sites included pasture improvement for rangeland, raised-beds
for irrigated, conservation agriculture for rainfed, and agro-forestry
for mountain agro-ecosystems. The criteria used to identify potential
areas for out-scaling consisted of land use, slope, water resources
availability, precipitation, degree of land degradation, livestock
density, soil depth, soil texture, and soil salinity. Global spatial datasets, such as the FAO Land Degradation
Assessment in Drylands project (LADA), soil data from the
Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD), and soil depth from the
Soil Map of the World were used to derive the required database.
Available national data provided by the participating countries were
used as supplemental sources. The derived maps were validated and
verified by an interdisciplinary team of experts and researchers from
the countries in both regions. Verification of the maps derived at regional level – using low
resolution data, with more detailed data for some countries –
indicated that potential areas for out-scaling SLM could be generally
identified. However, for implementation purposes and to derive the extent of the potential areas, detailed data at national level is needed.
Yet, the results are useful to guide decision makers to first identify the
extent and distribution of the potential areas for each SLM and agroecosystem
and, second, to prioritize the implementation. This will help
in the out-scaling of SLM options to improve productivity and
resilience. pp. 358 - 363
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Author(s) ORCID(s)
Haddad, Mira https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9450-1599
Oweis, Theib https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2003-4852
Akramkhanov, Akmal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4316-5580
Oweis, Theib https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2003-4852
Akramkhanov, Akmal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4316-5580