Dryland Management and the USAID Response in Africa. Combating Desertificationthrough Development

摘要

Over the past several years, A.I.D. has carried out numerous projects to combatdesertification, i.e., to improve the management of dryland resources such as soils, forests, and range and water resources. Many of these projects were designed as a result of experience gained during the 1983-84 drought in Africa. In addition, A.I.D. has conducted an extraordinary number of studies and evaluations of desertification and has analyzed 70 promising natural resource management initiatives in Niger, Mali, Senegal, and The Gambia. The chief limiting factor is no longer technology, but its widespread adoption, an effort in which donors and the public sector have important extension, technical assistance, and management roles to play. The coordination of national efforts towards dryland management has been made a priority by Agenda 21 of the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development; this coordination could be achieved by incorporating national Plans of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD's) into National Environmental Action Plans (NEAP's). The NEAP's, in turn, could be especially useful in providing a framework within which NGO/PVO and regional/village level participation would be encouraged.