• A report analysing the phenomena of land degradation and desertification in Palestine and the natural and man-made processes at their roots (including(as applicable(climate change).
• A monitoring system in place to measure and assess land degradation and desertification phenomena in Palestine.

Activities

• PEnA and collaborating partners appoint a Land Degradation and Desertification Working Group composed of both expert professionals and farmers/ herders who maintain a daily relationship with land resources and their trends - to carry out an analysis of natural phenomena and human activities with a known adverse impact on land quality (e.g. diminished soil fertility, pollution, land degradation, desertification) in Palestine.
• The Working Group establishes a system to monitor land degradation and desertification phenomena, as well as the social, biological and climatic processes understood to be at their roots.

Objective 2

To harness all the available resources in the Palestinian society to combat and, wherever possible, reverse land degradation and desertification processes.

Outputs

• Workplans and agenda highlighting practical steps to combat desertification

Activities

• On the basis of the understanding of causes, processes and trends of land degradation and desertification in Palestine, the Working Group identifies the specific environments most in need of attention and action, and organises a series of meetings to discuss the issues at stake with all relevant stakeholders.
• On the basis of the discussions with the relevant stakeholders, the Working Group assists in developing at least three local plans to combat land degradation and desertification (likely including a variety of measures, from social communication campaigns to land rehabilitation efforts. For processes of land degradation and desertification caused by large-scale climatic change, the Working Group assist in developing plans to cope at best with the negative consequences. (Linking with Project 6: Collaborative Management of Biodiversity and project 5: Habitat Restoration (including rangelands, forests, sacred groves and integrated agro-ecosystems).
• The Working Group promotes policies to mandate an environmental impact assessment study for all development plans in Palestine (e.g., in the realm of industry, agriculture, transportation) and ensure that precautionary measures and environmental standards are enforced and respected for the specific prevention of land degradation and desertification (Linking with project 8: Elaborating and Enforcing a National Legislation/Legal Frameworks on Biodiversity).

Duration

Four years.

Estimated Budget Break-Down