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LADA BACKGROUND
Land Degradation Assessment and Rehabilitation have been
receiving considerable and dedicated attention from the South African
Government. With only 35% of the country receiving more than 500mm rainfall per
year, and with more than 80% of soils being classified as having a moderate to
low potential, the pressure on high potential agricultural land is increasing
constantly.
The Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) project
responds to the need to strengthen support to land degradation assessment at
international and national levels and is funded by various international
organisations. It also responds to the needs of the joint work program between
the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat
Desertification (CCD) on Dry and Sub-humid Lands and was fully endorsed by the
fourth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) of the CCD in Bonn,
Germany on 11-22 December 2000.
The LADA project was launched during the 3rd meeting of the GEF
Assembly during August 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. LADA will generate
up-to-date ecological, social, economic and technical information, including a
combination of traditional knowledge and modern science, to guide integrated and
cross-sectoral planning and management in drylands. South Africa attended the
LADA inception meeting in 2002 and has subsequently been accepted as one of 6
pilot countries where land assessment methodologies are currently being
developed, tested and evaluated.
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA - GEF focal point)
has endorsed the project and accepted the Department of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (DAFF) as the coordinating institution. The Institute for Soil,
Climate and Water of the Agricultural Research Council has been identified as
the implementing agency for LADA in South Africa. The 1st LADA South Africa
Stakeholder Workshop was held on 13 and 14 March 2007 at the ARC-Institute for
Soil, Climate and Water (ARC-ISCW) in Pretoria.
The Workshop was attended by 27 invited experts, representing
state departments, science councils, an international institution representing
an international programme, universities, a private institution, academia, a NGO
and two FAO representatives. The number of participants was limited as this
initial Workshop was aimed at brainstorming to successfully initiate the LADA SA
project.
LADA WORKSHOPS
LADA Workshops were held in Italy, Argentina, Turkey, USA, South
Africa and Tunisia
