Land degradation surveillance: quantifying and monitoring land degradation

Diagnostic surveillance approaches used in the pub- lic health sector can now be adapted and deployed to provide a reliable mechanism for evidence- based learning and the sound targeting of investments in sustainable land management (SLM) programs. Initially, a series of case definitions are developed through which the problem can be quantified. Then, sample units are screened to determine whether they meet the case criteria. This process involves conducting prevalence surveys requiring measurement of a large number of sample units. The land management surveillance approach uses a combination of cutting-edge tools, such as satellite remote sensing at multi- ple scales; georeferenced ground-sampling schemes based on sentinel sites; infrared spectroscopy for rapid, reliable soil and plant tissue analysis; and mixed-effects statistical models to provide population-based estimates from hierar- chical data. The approach provides a scientifically rigorous frame- work for evidenced-based management of land resources that is modeled on well-tested scientific approaches used in epidemiology. It provides a spatial framework for testing interventions in landscapes in a way that samples the vari- ability in conditions, thereby increasing the ability to gener- alize from outcomes. The baseline that the protocol gener- ates provides a scientifically rigorous platform for monitoring outcomes of intervention projects at a land- scape level. The approach is particularly well suited to pro- viding high-quality information at low cost in areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where existing data on land resources are sparse. It is being used in a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) capacity-building project to guide strategies for land restoration in five West African dryland countries and in a World Bank Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in Kenya, led by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, which is designed to tackle land degra- dation problems in the Lake Victoria basin. Soil health sur- veillance has been recommended as part of a strategy endorsed by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) for saving Africa’s soils and is proposed for Sub- Saharan Africa as a component of the Global Digital Soil Map of the World project.

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