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A new short course, entitled “Integrated approaches for land restoration through sustainable land management” was developed through cooperation between GRÓ LRT, the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative and Arba Minch University (AMU). The course was held at the Haile Resort in the city of Arba Minch on 28 March to 1 April 2022.
Description
The aim of the course was to raise awareness on the economic benefits of ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management (SLM), teach the main steps involved in planning SLM and ecosystem restoration projects, and provide an overview on valuation techniques. The target group for the course was district development assistance workers specialized in natural resource management. Participants in the course were twenty.
The 5-day course was organized in a hybrid format, combining in-class sessions, field visits and pre-recorded lectures. GRÓ LRT’s main contribution was in the form of pre-recorded lectures, given by Dr Thorunn Petursdottir from the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and Professor Asa L. Aradottir and Professor Olafur Arnalds, both from the Agricultural University of Iceland. Their lectures focused on social-ecological systems, land literacy and degradation processes, and on approaches and principles in restoration of degraded land.
In-class sessions were given by Dr Fassil Eshetu Teffera from AMU and Dr Mesfin Tilahun from ELD. Dr Teffera lectured on approaches and principles in SLM, and gave insight into the experience of land degradation and restoration in the Lake Chamo watershed area. Dr Tilahun introduced the economics of land dynamics framework for the consideration of the economic values of land, and taught the methodology used to assess the costs and benefits of SLM and land restoration interventions.
The surrounding Lake Chamo watershed was used as a case in the course to study the effects of land degradation on various ecosystem services and on how SLM and restoration can reverse the degradation and produce a range of benefits for the society. The participants visited different parts of the watershed on the fourth day of the course and reflected on the concepts and topics covered during the lectures. They also collected data for cost-benefit analysis that they worked on in groups on the last day of the course.
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