New paper on “Land decline in Land-Rich Africa – A creeping disaster in the making“
March 28, 2008.
“Land decline in Land-Rich Africa – A creeping disaster in the making“, a paper written by ZEF senior staff Paul Vlek, Quang Bao Le and Lulseged Tamene and published by the Science Council of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) tackles the issue of land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa. The study offers conclusions about the type of agro and ecosystems under threat on the continent, by integrating Normalize Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) maps and a series of additional databases. The paper concludes with science-based recommendations to the international community of researchers, donors and policy makers, urging them for immediate action in those areas in sub-Saharan Africa where soil and terrain conditions seem extremely unfavourable. But also, relatively resilient regions that have traditionally served as the breadbaskets of Africa require immediate attention from the development community: though soil and terrain are more favourable in these areas, population pressure causes an accelerating process of degradation.
If you want to receive a printed copy of the paper, please contact Sabine Aengenendt-Baer: s.aengenendt-baer@uni-bonn.de
