Woman walks in desert with child in her arms.
The SDC is committed to preserving soil fertility, forest and water resources in countries affected by desertification. ©CGIAR

Desertification and soil erosion cause the land to lose vital elements such as nutrients and minerals. As a result, people lose their means of agricultural production, their source of food and income, and even their entire livelihoods. In a bid to prevent this, the SDC works to promote sustainable land, forest and water management in affected areas.

The SDC's focus

The SDC supports the preservation of soil fertility and water resources through sustainable agriculture and forest management, primarily in arid regions such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. It imparts knowledge, supports research projects and provides assistance with institutional reforms. The SDC's activities to combat desertification and soil erosion include the following:

Protecting pasture land

In Mongolia, one of the countries most affected by desertification, the SDC has been working to protect pasture land since 2004. It promotes pasture user groups (PUGs), groups of herders that jointly manage grazing lands. The local government grants PUGs the rights to use the land. These groups draw up pasture management plans and use the meadows in rotation. PUGs are independent bodies increasingly recognised and supported by local governments. To date, 960 PUGs and 67 marketing cooperatives have been supported by the Green Gold project, involving more than 53,000 herder households (30% of all herder households in the country).

Sustainable forestry

Charcoal is an important fuel in many developing countries. Its production requires large quantities of wood, which can lead to deforestation, soil erosion and, ultimately, desertification. Sustainable forest management and the energy-efficient production of charcoal are measures that can be introduced to prevent desertification.

In Tanzania, the SDC supports a project called Transforming Tanzania's Charcoal Sector, in which residents of eight villages in the district of Kilosa draw up plans to manage the forest and carry them out on a community basis. At the same time, they are taught how to produce charcoal sustainably. As well as protecting the forest and wood resources, this also improves the quality of the charcoal, leading to higher incomes for charcoal producers.

Convention to Combat Desertification

Switzerland, represented by the SDC, has been actively involved in the design and implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The primary objective of the Convention is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels.

WOCAT – Sharing information on sustainable land management

The SDC supports the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), a global network led by the University of Bern's Centre for Development and Environment. Partners collect, evaluate and document information about sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and approaches, in particular in areas severely affected by desertification and drought. The data is used to facilitate decision-making on land use and to combat erosion, among other purposes.

Since early 2014, WOCAT has been recognised by the UNCCD as the global platform for documenting SLM best practices. WOCAT supports the 197 signatory countries in sharing their land management practices on the platform so that they can learn from each other quickly and easily. The SDC, for example, shares successful practices and valuable know-how on combating desertification, in a quick and cost-effective way.

Background

During desertification, the natural potential of the land deteriorates, meaning that it loses productivity, biological diversity and its ability to regenerate. The UNCCD thus defines desertification as 'land degradation'. The climatic and human factors of overgrazing, overexploitation, deforestation and unsustainable or environmentally-damaging irrigation systems contribute to desertification.

Approximately one third of the world's agricultural land has degraded. Every year, 12 million hectares are lost to desertification, an area three times the size of Switzerland. 2.7 billion people suffer from the ecological, economic and social consequences of desertification and soil erosion. Desertification is often linked to the poverty of the people living in the affected areas. In order to survive, the only option they have is to overexploit the land. Other contributing factors to overexploitation are international market imperatives and a lack of awareness about natural resources in some regions.

Switzerland ratified the UNCCD in 1996. It is the only legally binding document linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The 197 parties to the Convention work to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.

The UNCCD recommends a bottom-up approach to achieve its objectives, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification. The two other UN conventions agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit – the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – are also crucial to the fight against desertification.

Documents

Current projects

Object 85 – 96 of 161

Sustainable water management for food security and nutrition in agriculture and food systems

01.04.2018 - 31.03.2027

Agriculture accounts globally for 70% freshwater use. Inefficient water use, water pollution, climate change and increasing global water demand puts agriculture under pressure, as well for smallholders. SDC can build on successful experiences in this domain and will support projects in Africa in ecologically sustainable water management in smallholder agriculture and food systems, improve smallholders’ economic and social situation and increase the resilience of their livelihoods.


Blue Lifelines – Safeguarding Wetlands in the Sahel

01.04.2018 - 30.06.2023

The relevance of wetlands for food security and nutrition is underestimated worldwide and in the Sahel in particular. Experiences from the project sites in Mali and Ethiopia and from previous efforts have the potential to change Sahelian and global approaches and to be scaled-up through attracting investments by international financing institutions. The project is implemented by Wetlands International, Caritas Switzerland and a Swiss technology company hydrosolutions Ltd.


Proyecto de Apoyo a una Agricultura Sostenible en Cuba PAAS

01.04.2018 - 31.12.2021

PAAS promueve las bases de un modelo de gestión para el autoabastecimiento local de alimentos, en 22 municipios, que involucra a instituciones, gobiernos, productores y consumidores, y fomenta mejoras en la producción agroecológica, procesamiento, certificación y comercialización a nivel local para 6 cadenas de valor (frutas, miel, hortalizas, oleaginosas, yuca y pollo); a la vez que se genera confianza de los consumidores, mayor acceso a alimentos sanos y nuevos empleos.


RUNRES: The rural-urban nexus: Establishing a nutrient loop to improve city region food systems.

01.04.2018 - 30.04.2023

Implemented by the Institute for sustainable Agroecosystems of ETHZ, RUNRES will seek to improve the resilience and sustainability of food systems in four different rural-urban regions across Africa. It will encourage nutrient & waste recycling by installing and redirecting the byproducts of innovative, ecological, hygienically safe sanitation solutions. The organic matter may then serve as an input for smallholder producers to generate a circular flow of nutrients in agriculture, reinvigorating thus regional food systems.


Programme d'Appui à la Promotion de l'Entreprenariat Agricole (PAPEA)

01.03.2018 - 31.05.2023

Au Burkina Faso, les entreprises agricoles sont peu développées et à prédominance informelles et individuelles. Les contraintes multiples, dont le faible accès aux services non financiers et financiers, réduisent leur productivité et créent moins de valeur ajoutée. S’appuyant sur l’expertise suisse en matière d’inclusion financière, la DDC soutiendra le secteur privé agricole (micro et petites entreprises) afin de créer des emplois décents pour les jeunes et des femmes et ainsi contribuer à réduire la pauvreté.


Entrepreneuriats Stratégiques Pour des Opportunités d’Investissements Renforcés (ESPOIR)

01.03.2018 - 30.06.2022

Ce programme contribue à l’émergence des microentreprises privées béninoises de jeunes et des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (PME) agroalimentaires pour assurer une croissance économique durable, une augmentation d’emplois et de revenus, et une alimentation nutritive (sécurité alimentaire). Il porte l’espoir de toute une génération d’entrepreneurs, et permet de répondre en partie au défi démographique par la création d’emplois.


GPFS Innovation Platforms

01.02.2018 - 31.12.2021

Since an improved participation of all agricultural stakeholders in research, innovation and development discussions is crucial for finding solutions to feed 9 Billion people by 2050, SDC supports networks which emphasize dynamic relationships between a broad range of social actors (e.g. farmers, scientists, private sector, civil society etc.) to facilitate exchange of information and experience among agricultural stakeholders.


PIAL – “Proyecto para fortalecer un Sistema de Innovación Agropecuaria para el Desarrollo Local”

01.02.2018 - 31.07.2022

PIAL fomenta capacidades locales para gestionar los problemas de las cadenas agro-alimentarias en 75 municipios, contribuyendo al incremento de la disponibilidad de alimentos. Así, se institucionaliza y extiende en el país un Sistema de Innovación Agropecuaria Local (SIAL), con espacios y mecanismos para la participación de agricultores, autoridades y otros actores locales en la solución de estos problemas. 


Inovagro Private Sector Led Rural Growth

02.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

Inovagro aims at increasing the incomes of poor farmers in Northern Mozambique, through ‘pro-poor’ private sector development. It improves farmers’ access to inputs and markets through local private, public and civil society partners. Phase III will consolidate the work of previous phases and focus on scale-up and replicability of successful interventions. There will also be a stronger focus on women inclusion, risk reduction, communication and knowledge sharing based on lessons learnt over the past years.


Crop Trust – Genebank Platform 2018

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2018

The Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) safeguards globally important collections of crop diversity critical for improving food and nutrition security. Genebanks require constant maintenance. The Crop Trust Endowment Fund ensures the long-term funding for the maintenance of these genebanks. The unique bilateral contribution by Switzerland contributes to safeguarding (and building up of) the Endowment Fund.


Programme d’appui à une gouvernance agricole inclusive en Haïti (PAGAI)

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2029

Le programme PAGAI vise à améliorer l’accès de 55’000 exploitations familiales haïtiennes à un cadre politique et des services agricoles appropriés. Pour y arriver, le programme va accompagner les organisations des producteurs ruraux (organisations paysannes), qui seront renforcées dans leur gouvernance interne, dans leur rôle de concertation/négociation de services et dans leur capacité de défendre les intérêts et plaider pour les paysannes et paysans d’Haïti.


Rural Markets

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

Rural Household Production Units experience various difficulties preventing them from establishing themselves sustainably and competitively in the market. The Rural Markets project successfully applied the market systems development approach. It now aims to induce systemic changes and a scaling up of markets for producers in new regions of productive potential. Support of non-financial services combined with financial services will establish synergies between public and private actors.

Object 85 – 96 of 161