International Activities Related to Dryland Degradation Assessment and Drought - Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought: A Global Study - page 427

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Facility as a cooperative activity between FAO, CCD, UNEP, and many
other international and national partners ( www.fao.org).

C onclusions
Th ere are a number of international, regional, and national initiatives to
as sess dryland degradation and its impact on agricultural productivity.
H owever, these activities need to be better coordinated to provide optimal
be nefits to users. Assessing the status and trends of dryland degradation
an d prediction of droughts is a complex task. It is important not only to
m onitor biophysical conditions but also to assess human vulnerability to
la nd degradation and droughts. Current policy measures and identification
of future priorities should be given equal weight. The dissemination of
sc ientifically credible results to the public and to policy-makers in a simple
an d understandable form is the key to improving decision-making in regard
to land degradation and drought monitoring and prediction.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The material for this chapter was heavily drawn from the
FAO unpublished background paper for the International Workshop on Dryland
Degradation Assessment Initiative, Rome, December 5-7, 2000 and the subsequent
project document prepared by the FAO on dryland degradation assessment. The
views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the United Nations
Environment Programme.

Re ferences
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FAO. 2000. Unpublished Background Paper for the International Workshop on
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