This report provides a brief summary of the discussions in and key findings of the Global Land
Outlook Writeshop that took place 11th - 13th of April 2016 in Amman, Jordan. The writeshop was
organized the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems, in collaboration with the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and ICARDA.
The purpose of the writeshop was to bring working authors together to discuss and share
knowledge and lessons learned on successful examples of sustainable land management best

Land degradation is a major challenge for agricultural and rural development
in Uzbekistan. Our research findings indicate that the costs of land
degradation in Uzbekistan are substantial; reaching about 0.85 billion USD annually
resulting from the loss of valuable land ecosystem services due to land use and
land cover changes alone between 2001 and 2009. On the other hand, economic
simulations also show that the returns from actions to address land degradation can
be four times higher their costs over a 30-year planning horizon, i.e. every dollar

The main objective of this study is to introduce the first consistent long ­term land cover database for Jordan. The Jordan National Land Cover Database (JNLCD) consists of four land cover maps for the years 1984, 1991, 1998, and 2014 that were developed at 30m resolution using a total of 11 Landsat TM/OLI satellite scenes. We primarily applied ISO DATA classification method and rule ­based method for refining misclassified classes. The overall accuracy achieved for the 1984 land cover map was 88% and for the 2014 land cover map was 93%.

Research on micro-catchment rainwater harvesting techniques by ICARDA and Jordanian
scientists has led to the establishment of semicircular bunds on contour ridges and furrows
(using GPS laser-guided Vallerani machine) and runoff strips in two communities of Jordan
Badia. As an outcome of this research, an effective micro-catchment laser-guided system was
identified for rainfall harvesting, which has led to improved water availability, increased
vegetative cover and improved soil health, and provided rural communities substantial sources

Around 2.5 billion people – 30 percent of the world’s population – live in the dry areas, which cover more than 40 percent of the world’s land surface. Scarce natural resources, land degradation and frequent droughts severely challenge food production in these areas. Both North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and the North East of Brazil fall under arid and semi-arid climate. Cacti have developed phenological, physiological and structural adaptations for growth and survival in arid environments where they have multiple functions (food, feed, soil conservation, etc.).

The present document is a brief technical report highlighting activities relating to the options by context approach. The IFAD- funded project, “Restoration of degraded land for food security and poverty reduction in East Africa and the
Sahel: taking successes in land restoration to scale” was launched in March 2015 and runs until March 2018. The project
action countries include: Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. This report will focus on activities carried out in the first

Los objetivos de este trabajo están fundamentados en la necesidad prioritaria que tiene nuestro planeta y por ende nuestro país, de no seguir siendo devastados por las emisiones mundiales responsables del cambio climático, mismas que amenazan la vida del ser humano y de los miles de ecosistemas que lo componen.

Field experiments were carried out during four cropping seasons (summer 2013, winter 2013/14, summer 2014 and winter 2014/15) to evaluate sustainable interventions to combat degradation associated with salt accumulation. Field trials were conducted with various treatments including application of gypsum, organic matter, bio-fertilizers, ammonia injection, and installation of mole drains.

In this issue: the meeting in Antalya laid the foundation for the implementation of the ELD Initiative in Central Asia. The ELD CA Initiative held a working meeting in Ashgabat. Communication issues have been identified. A working meeting of the group of Tajik specialists. ELD CA paths of cooperation are being determined. A 6-step approach to issues of the Economics of Land Degradation.

Land degradation and desertification are among the biggest environmental challenges of our time. In the last 40 years, we lost nearly a third of the world’s arable farmland due to erosion, just as the number of people to be fed from it almost doubled. That’s why the UN General Assembly declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils. And the good news is that this new report shows that while Africa remains the most severely a«ected region, the benefit of taking action across the continent outweighs the cost of implementing it: not just by a little, but by a factor of seven.

As the world’s population continues to rise, there is
an ever increasing demand for our land to produce
a diverse range of products such as food, timber,
and fuel. Our growing need for these goods is
leading to higher levels of competition between
different land uses and, as a result, land users. Not
only is the quantity of land available for production
under current technical and economic conditions
limited, but there is also growing evidence that the
quality of our land is degrading (Safriel, U. N. 2007;

Jordanian rangelands are a source of valued livestock produce, carbon storage, biodiversity, and medicinal plants. They also serve as watersheds that receive rainfall, yield surface water, and replenish groundwater throughout the area east and south of the western Jordan highlands. Appropriate land management, which is currently lacking, can protect and maximize these services for society. With the acceleration of desertification, land degradation and drought during the twenty-first century in the arid and semi-arid regions of Jordan, these services are becoming jeopardized.