Land Degradation Assessment in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

The FAO publication “Land Degradation Assessment in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)” is basically a manual packed with tools for assessing land degradation in a group of very heterogenous island states located in the Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. SIDS are generally characterized by high levels of chronic poverty, largely rural-based populations and heavy dependence on traditional agriculture and, especially in the Caribbean region, tourism based economies. Land degradation has a particularly heavy impact in environmental, economic and social terms.

In order to assess the impact of land degradation on livelihoods and ecosystem services the LADALocal methodology is advocated, with some modifications for SIDS,  consisting of the following steps:

1)developing the map of Land Use Systems (LUS) from the land cover map;

2) assessment of land degradation and sustainable land management (SLM) for each LUS and administrative unit;

3) analysis of results of local assessments using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework;

4) national assessment, using the local assessment data, secondary data , and the LADA QM manual, and assembly into a harmonized national land degradation and conservation database.

5) mapping land degradation and conservation on the basis of the national assessment.

The main contribution of the study is in bringing together in a single volume detailed descriptions of a wide range of tools and methods used in interviews, transect walks, and assessment of vegetation condition, soil quality and erosion. The study also provides guidelines for preparing the assessment report.

The tools and methods include the following themes:

1)   Focus group discussion with the community and key informants;

2)  Reconnaissance visit and transect walks;

3) Assessment of vegetation cover, species composition, tree condition, wood productivity;

4) Land user interview on grazing land (plant indicators, grazing regime, stocking rates, fire/drought risk);

5) Assessment of pasture/rangeland condition using visual indicators, sampling and scoring;

6) Vegetation condition in croplands, including crop biodiversity;

7) Assessment of perennial tree crop condition (sampling, species composition, indicators of condition and productivity;

8) Checklist for interview with land user on crop productivity and yield;

9) Assessment of soil quality through visual indicators (soil depth, texture, structure, colour, surface crust, soil life, roots);

10) Assessment of soil quality through measurements (slaking and dispersion, soil pH, water infiltration, organic carbon, soil and water salinity);

11) Assessment of soil erosion (field observations of type, state, extent and severity of erosion, field scoring for erosion features, coastal erosion, direct measurement of rill, gully and ravine erosion);

12) Assessment of the water resources using a DPSIR framework approach through land user/key informant interviews;

13) Assessment of degradation of river/stream banks and lake shores;

14) Assessment of mangrove ecosystem and tree condition;

15) Household livelihood interview, with topics relating the various types of capital (natural, physical, financial, social, and human) to land degradation, vulnerability and institutional/policy contexts.