Restoration in Action Against Desertification

Abstract

This publication supports land restoration processes, as part of the Great Green Wall Programme. It serves a dual purpose of consolidating biophysical operations as well as socio-economic assessments, and is built on five-year interventions and practical experiences gathered through the Action Against Desertification programme. The first part of the publication is a practical manual that describes how to implement an innovative approach to the large-scale restoration of degraded land for small-scale farming. This consists of combining enrichment planting of native woody and fodder grass species with the preparation of large-scale land areas for rainwater harvesting and soil permeability. The second part introduces a methodology for socio-economic assessments. The proposed approach is based on household surveys and can be used to monitor, evaluate and assess the socio-economic impacts of large-scale restoration interventions. Household surveys are not only used for impact assessment but can potentially serve to collect useful data needed to plan a restoration intervention.