The Global Drylands Observing System proposed in this issue should reduce the huge uncertainty about the extent of desertification and the rate at which it is changing, and provide valuable information to scientists, planners and policy-makers. However, it needs careful design if information outputs are to be scientifically credible and salient to the needs of people living in dry areas. Its design would benefit from a robust, integrated scientific framework like the Dryland Development Paradigm to guide/inform the development of an integrated global monitoring and assessment programme (both directly and indirectly via the use of modelling). Various types of dryland system models (e.g. environmental, socioeconomic, land-use cover change, and agent-based) could provide insights into how to combine the plethora of monitoring information gathered on key socioeconomic and biophysical indicators to develop integrated assessment models. This paper shows how insights from models can help in selecting and integrating indicators, interpreting synthetic trends, incorporating cross-scalar processes, representing spatio-temporal variation, and evaluating uncertainty. Planners could use this integrated global monitoring and assessment programme to help implement effective policies to address the global problem of desertification.

The Mediterranean region covers about 854 million ha, but only 118 million (or 14 per cent) are suitable for agricultural production. In North Africa and the Middle East (MENA), agricultural land covers about 5 per cent; in Egypt and Algeria, it occupies less than 4 per cent and, in Libya, less than 2 per cent of the total national land area. Across the Mediterranean region land use divides between natural pastures/rangelands (ca. 15 per cent), forests and woodlands (ca. 8 per cent), with the ca. 63 per cent remaining desert sands, shallow, rocky, saline, sodic soils and areas effectively sealed by urbanisation. Land degradation is a severe problem in most Mediterranean countries. Estimates for the period 1961 to 2020 show that although the Mediterranean population is likely to more than double, ca. 8.3 million ha of agricultural land (7 per cent) may be lost as a result of continued urbanisation and land degradation. If these estimates are correct, agricultural land per capita would more than halve from ca. 0.48 ha (1961) to ca. 0.21 ha in 2020. Food security is likely to become increasingly problematic, especially in the MENA countries, which require a major reassessment of their agricultural development policy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recent rapid changes in global scale drivers of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) have two important consequences for drylands. First, changes in these drivers, for example in food and energy prices, make improving interventions in drylands more urgent because of their potential impacts. Second, these changes introduce new knowledge gaps regarding both the potential impacts on social‐ecological dryland systems and the design of options to take advantage of opportunities. This paper identifies the most salient research needs in DLDD in drylands brought on by global drivers. The question was addressed through an iterative stakeholder consultative forum. First, relevant global scale drivers were identified through a literature review and preliminary consultation. Next, stakeholders and experts were further consulted to identify research priorities given rise to by these drivers. Identified research priorities were as follows: (i) assessing impacts of rising prices on DLDD in mixed market and subsistence production contexts; (ii) assessing options and limits of agricultural modernisation on fragile lands; (iii) developing methods for assessing land‐use trade‐offs and mapping productive lands; (iv) modelling and participatory methods for monitoring and evaluating soil carbon sequestration; (v) developing policy frameworks to regulate impacts of investment on the environment and local livelihoods; (vi) participatory modelling for regional and local adaptation planning; and (vii) valuation of non‐market land degradation outcomes including biodiversity loss. Concluding, we call for a forward‐looking interdisciplinary drylands research agenda with an increased emphasis on governance to address these priorities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biophysical restoration or rehabilitation measures of land have demonstrated to be effective in many scientific projects and small-scale environmental experiments. However circumstances such as poverty, weak policies, or inefficient scientific knowledge transmission can hinder the effective upscaling of land restoration and the long term maintenance of proven sustainable use of soil and water. This may be especially worrisome in lands with harsh environmental conditions. This review covers recent efforts in landscape restoration and rehabilitation with a functional perspective aiming to simultaneously achieve ecosystem sustainability, economic efficiency, and social wellbeing. Water management and rehabilitation of ecosystem services in croplands, rangelands, forests, and coastlands are reviewed. The joint analysis of such diverse ecosystems provides a wide perspective to determine: (i) multifaceted impacts on biophysical and socio-economic factors; and (ii) elements influencing effective upscaling of sustainable land management practices. One conclusion can be highlighted: voluntary adoption is based on different pillars, i.e. external material and economic support, and spread of success information at the local scale to demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of sustainable land management. For the successful upscaling of land management, more attention must be paid to the social system from the first involvement stage, up to the long term maintenance.

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Abstract:The objective of this study is to define an efficient pricing scheme for irrigation water in conditions of unmetered water use. The study is based on a principal-agent model and identifies a menu of contracts, defined as a set of payments and share of irrigated area, able to provide incentives for an efficient use of the resource by maximizing social welfare. The model is applied in the case study of the Çukas region (Albania) where irrigation water is not metered. The results demonstrate that using a menu of contracts makes it possible to define a second best solution that may improve the overall social welfare derived from irrigation water use compared with the existing pricing structure, though, in the specific case study, the improvement is small. Furthermore, the results also suggest that irrigation water pricing policy needs to take into account different farm types, and that appropriate contract-type pricing schemes have a potential role in providing incentives to farmers to make irrigation choices to the social optimum.

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