Combating Desertification in Kenya - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 142

areas that are often more abundant than in non-drylands. Implementation of such
practices in drylands requires institution building, access to markets, technology
transfer, capital investment, and reorientation of farmers and pastoralists.
Desertification can also be avoided by creating economic opportunities in
drylands urban centers and areas outside drylands. Changes in overall economic
and institutional settings that create new opportunities for people to earn a liv-
ing could help relieve current pressures underlying the desertification processes.
Urban growth, when undertaken with adequate planning and provision of services,
infrastructure, and facilities, can be a major factor in relieving pressures that cause
desertification in drylands. This view is relevant when considering the projected
growth of the urban fraction in drylands in Kenya, which will increase to around
52 % by 2010 and to 60 % by 2030.

3 Reversal of Land Degradation

The goal of rehabilitation and restoration approaches is to restore ecosystem
services that have been lost due to desertification. This is achieved through a positive
change in the interaction between people and ecosystem. Restoration is an alteration
of a degraded site to reestablish a defined native ecosystem state and all its functions
and services. Rehabilitation seeks to repair damaged or blocked parts or sectors of
ecosystem functions, with the primary goal of regaining ecosystem productivity.
Like the benefits of increased education or improved governance, the protection,
restoration, and enhancement of ecosystem services tend to have multiple benefits.
Effective restoration and rehabilitation of desertified drylands require a combi-
nation of policies and technologies and the close involvement of local communities.
Examples of measures to restore and rehabilitate include establishment of seed
banks, restocking of soil organic matter and organisms that promote higher plant
establishment and growth, and reintroduction of selected species. Other rehabilita-
tion practices include investing in land through practices such as terracing and other
counter-erosion measures, control of invasive species, chemical and organic nutrient
replenishment, and reforestation. Policies that create incentives for rehabilitation
include capacity building, capital investment, and supportive institutions. Com-
munity involvement in conceptualization, design, and implementation is essential
for rehabilitation approaches. For example, many of the policies for combating
desertification tried in the Sahel during the 1970s and 1980s failed because they
did not involve local land managers. An example of a success story is the work
reported by Mugova and Mavunga ( 2000 ).
For desertified areas, rehabilitation strategies have a mix of positive and negative
impacts on ecosystems, human well-being, and poverty reduction. The success of
rehabilitation practices depends on the availability of human resources, capital for
operation and maintenance, infrastructure development, the degree of dependence
on external sources of technology, and cultural perceptions. Adequate access to
these resources, combined with due consideration of the needs of local communities,