Research Activities
The main objective of the ELD Research is to build a global coalition of different stakeholders analyzing the economics of land degradation, i.e. its global social costs, and to use the results of this analysis to determine cost-effective actions against land degradation.
The project is based on the following activities:
- Initiating and informing the policy debate and dialogue on land degradation at regional and global level.
- Forming an open consortium, with participation based on scientific quality and credibility that leads the research on ELD internationally.
- Conducting the global ELD assessment. This is the major activity of the multi-disciplinary ELD scientific consortium. The assessment will be based on 'the cost of action vs. inaction' approach (CAVI) in selected case study countries. Using spatial analysis approaches, the case study results will be interpolated to the global level by establishing links between local, on-the-ground analysis and global land degrdation indicators.
- Peer-reviewing the ELD assessment, to be undertaken by scientists not involved in the actual research of the project but with global academic reputation and respect.
- Communicating results to increase awareness and invoke commitment to take action against land degradation. The major focus will be on interacting with policy makers and stimulating their support for ELD by providing empirical evidence to decision-makers and stakeholders at national, regional and international levels.
