31 March - 4 April 2019. Cairo. Land and Water Days in the NENA Region 2019 1 April: Session Halting land degradation

1. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
icarda.org cgiar.org
A CGIAR Research Center
Achieving the SDGs by combating land and
soil degradation
by employing the NENA Region’s diverse
agro-ecosystems
Prof. Jacques Wery
DDG-R ICARDA

2. icarda.org
Key Messages
We have a serious problem
There are many solutions
We need to work differently

3. icarda.org
We are far from Land degradation Neutrality in NENA
• 45% of all land used by agriculture in NENA is degraded
• Including: 70 % of rainfed
• 85% of agro-pastoral
• 30% of irrigated
2.5 M Km2 of Land used by agriculture

4. icarda.org
Can we achieve SDG15 in a sustainable manner in the
NENA Region?
BLUE WATER
NUTRITION
SECURITY
NATURAL
RESOURCES
& ENERGY
EMPLOYMENT
There are Synergies
but also Trade-offs

5. icarda.org
No single solution across the Diversity of Agro-ecosystems
17 %
22 %
58 %
3 %
Agricultural Land (2.5 M km2)

6. icarda.org
• Soil Erosion
• No vegetation
• No Livelihood
• Downstream Flooding
Land and Livestock governance
Integrated Watershed Management
Marab Agriculture

7. icarda.org
Efficiency and Sustainability via Systemic Innovation
Success Factors in Agro-pastoral
restauration
 Multi-stakeholder engagement and institutional
collaborations that leverage resources and
knowledge and improve overall efficiency of
actions
 Long-term investments and commitment by
financing agencies
 Supportive national and local policy processes
 Use of local practices and knowledge in
implementation
 Empowerment of the community to own the
process
Solutions and their
combination is site
specific – no one single
rule to apply anywhere!!

8. icarda.org
Input-based Intensification
• Loss of Soil Fertility
• Salinization
• Soil Health (Pesticides and Fertilizers)
Diversity-based Intensification
Water Management

9. icarda.org
Mechanized Rainfed Agriculture
Conservation Agriculture
• Loss of soil fertility (organic matter, compaction)
• Weeds, pests and diseases
• Risky farming
Forages and Pulses
“De-risking” solutions for farmers

10. icarda.org
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
EnhancedVegetationIndex(EVI)
8-days interval from 2000-2013
Water deficit years (droughts)Water surplus years (good years)
Spectral Profile of Grassland
degradation in Jordan
-ve
+ve
We need a global effort to monitor Land Degradation in NENA

11. icarda.org
Outscaling Sustainable Land Management Options
(Haddad et al, 2015) http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/4679
Supplemental Irrigation in Rainfed Raised-bed in Irrigated
Vallerani Water Harvesting in Agro-pastoral

12. icarda.org
A Lack of Quantitative and Multi-drivers Economic
Analysis of LD adapted to NENA Region
• Quantitative
Methodologies rely on Data
• Only one of the drivers:
Yields linked to Nutrient
Depletion
• NENA Region not covered

13. icarda.org
Good solutions for one SGD may be a Bad solution
for another
Barley + Water
=Better Livelihood (farm level)
+ Food Security (country level)
+ Overgrazing (watershed level)

14. icarda.org
Upscaling to Agri-Food Systems at the National Level
RSB Wheat (Feddans)
Food
Policy
Target
?
?
?
 Ex ante Multiscale and Multicriteria Assessment of Innovation to inform Policies

15. icarda.org
Coordination of Action on Soils, Land, Water and
Climate in the NENA Region
• Data Management and Sharing
(e.g. NDVI derived from Remote
Sensing)
• Data Collection and Update
(e.g. soils)
• Data Down-scaling (Climate,
Soil)
• Data value is in Scenarios based
on Indicators and Models

16. icarda.org
Knowledge Sharing and Integrated
Assessment for the Drylands
https://www.cgiar.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/SMB12-03-Discussion-on-the-
Dry-Arc-concept.pdf
The DryArc Interface
A Combination of Tools for
• Participatory,
• Benchmarking,
• Integrated Assessment, and
• Scaling
of Innovations for Dryland Agri-
Food Systems

17. icarda.org
Thank You
J.Wery@cgiar.org
Theib Oweis
Mira Haddad
Chandra Biradar
Stefan Strohmeier
Atef Swelam
Richard Thomas
Claudio Zucca
Vinay Nangia
Mounir Louhachi
Mary Margaret McRae
We can (still) revert Land and Soil
degradation if we work differently