This report summarizes the findings of the e-mail conference that took place from 9 October to 4 November 2002 and which was organized by the Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands project (LADA). The report contains exchanges of views on data sets and methods that may be used to assess land degradation and a discussion on the biophysical, socio-economic and institutional indicators that explain the root causes, driving forces, status, impact and reponses to land degradation at various scales.

Este nmero de Unasylva se ocupa de los desafos especiales que plantean la conservacin y utilizacin de los rboles fuera del bosque.

The Project was created as a result of an urgent need to protect cultivated land against the severe degradation caused by wind and water erosion in the Korqin Sandy Lands, to improve the socio-economic well being of the inhabitants of the region and for the need to sustainable produce wood for all sorts of uses.

LADA (Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands project) is a scientifically-based approach to assessing and mapping land degradation at different spatial scales ? small to large ? and at various levels ? local to global. It was initiated in drylands, but the methods and tools have been developed so as to be widely applicable in other ecosystems and diverse contexts with minimal required adaptation.

Meeting Name: European Commission on Agriculture
Meeting symbol/code: ECA/32/02/2
Session: Sess. 32

Le suivi et l'évaluation sont essentiels pour mesurer les progrès réalisés et les impacts biophysiques et socio-économiques des activités menées dans le cadre d'Action contre la désertification. Le S&E aide également Action contre la désertification à obtenir des résultats en veillant à ce que les objectifs soient clairement définis et réalisables, que la collecte de données soit correctement planifiée et que les données soient utilisées pour la prise de décision et pour l'amélioration continuelle du programme.

This issue of Unasylva focuses on Africa. A large part of the continent has been overrun by drought in successive years, and millions of people are exposed to hunger and malnutrition. In many African countries, cultivation is because of hunger - rapidly expanding into forest land and areas of low rainfall. This process, coupled with necessarily unmanaged exploitation for fuelwood, fodder and other basic goods and services that forests and trees provide, has led to a progressively increasing rate of deforestation.