As a SARD Initiative volunteer, Thorsten:

• Supported the task manager in terms of resource mobilisation issues, correspondence with stakeholders, and communication with Major Groups.

• Did pioneering work related to a global SARD Resource Facility (RF), including developing a concept of the Resource Facility which would disseminate tools and practices that contribute to the implementation of SARD and environmental rehabilitation, provide outstanding examples of SARD implementation in their socio-environmental contexts, and serve as interactive platform providing background information to build SARD from a small scale to a broad impact.

• Framed a summary paper on the evolution of SARD, which was widely distributed inside of FAO (building on work from Karen Powell).

• Analysed ‘scaling-up good practices of SARD’ and the opportunities that the multi-stakeholder SARD Initiative may offer. This included contributions to the SARD Retrospective Review questionnaires, and a tentative assessment framework for Scaling-up processes.

• Provided support to the International Forum on Partnerships for Sustainable Development in Rome, March 2004.

Thorsten is now completing his PhD at the University of Hohenheim, entitled: "Irrigation & Poverty: The application of multi-agent systems as policy tools to explore effects of heterogenity".