Global Drylands Assessment

A wide range of methods and tools exist for monitoring and assessment of different aspects of drylands, as well as emerging new technologies and tools including FAO tools: LADA and Collect Earth.
These methods should be used as building blocks and for developing new methods that integrate remote sensing and local participation. Participants recommended FAO to support such monitoring and assessment of global drylands using the FAO developed collect Earth tool as a start-up.
Taking advantage of available extra-budgetary funds, FAO launched the global drylands assessment under the framework of two FAO-led complementary projects, “Action Against Desertification” in FAO’s Dryland forestry programme and the "Global Forest Survey”, which are being implemented in collaboration with a network of regional and international partners, national governments, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions.
The assessment, considered as the first baseline is using a global and regional approach. To gain a preliminary global understanding of the dryland land uses and elements including forests, trees and grasslands, an assessment using Collect Earth of over 200,000 plots around the world has been undertaken.

