Work Package 2.1 Environmentally sensitive area identification system to identify desertification risk at sub-national target area scales. (AUA and UNIBAS-DPV-AF))

A proto-type mainly state indicator methodology was developed under Framework Programme IV to identify and map environmentally sensitive areas to desertification at the municipality scale. A description of it is given in Kosmas, Kirkby and Geeson (Eds). 1999. “Key indicators of desertification and mapping environmentally sensitive areas to desertification”. European Commission (Directorate General, Science, Research and Development). The methodology is based on measured attributes relating to soil, climate, vegetation and management quality. It has already been applied in the four target areas (Alentejo Region-Portugal, Guadalentín Basin-Spain, Agri Basin-Italy, Lesvos island-Greece) and in the Puglia Region-Italy (European Soil Bureau). Maps showing types of ESAs ranked by environmental degradation conditions and management quality from critical (or high-risk) areas to non-affected areas have been compiled for each of these regions. This methodology has already been adopted by some of the UNCCD Annex IV National Committees for mapping ESAs at the national level and has been included in the Greek National Action Plan to Combat Desertification.

However, the proto-type methodology is based on 16 separate parameters. If it is to be widely applied, outside the target areas for which it was developed, and across all the Annex IV affected countries, it needs to be simplified in order to produce maps of ESAs, highlighting desertification risk, for a full range of stakeholders, based on readily available data and at low cost. The range of indicator types also needs to be expanded to include those relating to desertification impact through changes in landscape function, driving forces and pressure indicators and response indicators which will be identified in Part 1.

1. Simplification of methodology

In order to simplify the methodology, the sensitivity of the various parameters used to define ESAs will be analysed to obtain an optimal set of simple and efficient key indicators related to all the categories of indicators (driving forces, pressures, state, impacts and responses), the following steps will be followed.

• A variety of ESA types that are found in each target area, covering typical geological, topographical and climatic conditions and typical types of land use for Mediterranean Europe will be selected.
  
• The value of each of the parameters (soil texture, slope gradient, slope aspect, soil depth, rock fragment content, drainage, aridity index, precipitation, vegetation cover, vegetation fire risk and ability to recover, soil erosion protection, plant drought resistance, land use intensity, land use type, policy on environmental protection and degree of enforcement) will be determined for each ESA type. Emphasis will be given to the parameters affecting management quality such as cultivation of the land (used implements and tillage erosion), over use of shallow soils, grazing, deforestation, terracing of land and maintenance of terraces, irrigation, (water quality and soil water availability), etc. In addition, the stage of land degradation will be assessed by quantifying the vegetation performance (vegetation cover, total biomass, leaf area index) and the degree of erosion. All the data will be geo-referenced to the soil database for Europe (European Soil Bureau, version 1, 1998). The parameters and indices will be introduced into the GIS as independent layers. The GIS framework as well as the data set will be important deliverables to WP2.2 and work packages in Part 3.
  
• Statistical analysis will be made for each of the parameters in order to define: (a) the correlation of the parameter to the stage of land degradation (correlation coefficient), (b) the interrelationships between various parameters (analysis of covariance), (c) the effect of each parameter on the sensitivity to desertification (analysis of variance).
  

2. Revised ESAIS, including stakeholder-identified indicators

These state indicators will then be combined with the candidate indicators identified in Part 1 into an Environmentally Sensitive Area Identification System (ESAIS). Based on the results of the sensitivity analysis and the results obtained from the focus group work packages an ESAIS will be developed based on an optimal, low cost and efficient group of key indicators for highlighting desertification risk available to a full range of stakeholders.

3. ESAIS data base for each target area

The ESAIS database for each target area will be compiled by combining the information on the state, response, pressure and driver indicators derived from the work packages in Parts 1 and 2. The data base will be structured according to the specifications provided by WP 1.1.

Results. The principal results will be a an environmentally sensitive area identification system compiled from a number of different indicator types, at the sub-national target area scale, and the associated data bases for each target area.