Work Package 1.2 Impact indicators: identification of impact of desertification on land function as perceived by the local stakeholders (the work package will be coordinated by DGPR-FCSH-UNL, but will be implemented in all four target areas in collaboration with AUA, FUERM-GF and DITEC-UNIBAS)

This work package will examine the impact of desertification in the target areas, as it is perceived by the local stakeholders. The objective is to elicit impact indicators relating to changes in landscape function.

1. Questionnaire on perception of desertification

Questionnaires addressed to the general public and the stakeholder focus groups and reviews of published material will be used to elicit the perception of desertification, land degradation and global change and their impact on land function. The attitudes of land managers towards land degradation, among both the local rural community and the people from different government administration levels will be identified and analysed. The questionnaires will ask the following.

• How do local communities and the public in general understand land degradation and desertification?
  
• What is the perception of the problem by local, regional and national administration and decision-making institutions?
  
• What are the attitudes of local farmers towards land degradation?
  

2. Availability of information on desertification

To complement the national committees work on implementation indicators and to establish the level of information generally available about desertification, press releases, articles and other documents, at different levels (national, regional, local) will be gathered and analysed in order to establish:

• In what way have mass media been contributing to shape the image of public perception of desertification phenomena?
  
• What are the points in time when the desertification issue is raised by the mass media and why?
  
• How much space and importance is given to the dissemination of information concerning the real causes and the vast consequences of the earth’s desertification and land degradation problem, both to man and the environment?
  
• How can we make the bridge between scientific knowledge and society, to develop effective measures for affected people to combat desertification?
  
• What are the contributions to be given by UNCCD National Focal Points?
  

3. Stakeholder Focus Group Workshop 1

Workshop 1 will be held to

• Identify desertification impact in already affected areas and those most valued functions being threatened by desertification.
  
• Identify candidate impact indicators arising from the perception of desertification and its impact on land function (such as loss of biodiversity, sedimentation, reductions in crop yield).
  
• Identify the needs for information from the scientific community, especially from a desertification indicator system.
  
• Identification of which "what if?" scenarios should be examined in WP 3.4.
  

Results. The information and results derived from Workshop 1 are of crucial importance to support the development of adequate strategies to reach public opinion, clarify the problem in its environmental and socio-economic dimensions and raise awareness on the issues of land degradation and the need for conservation of natural resources. A report on the public perception of land degradation, desertification and global change and needs for scientific information in all four target areas and an illustrative booklet, written in collaboration with the UNCCD National Focal Points in non-technical language, will be the two deliverables from this work package. Identification of impact indicators for inclusion in the indicator system.