Living Land

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adapted to extreme ecological conditions and provide

essential goods and ecosystem services. However, forests

and their associated ecosystems are facing serious and

multiple threats, ranging from deforestation to degrada-

tion, fragmentation and desertification. Nevertheless, if

well managed and properly valued, forests and agrofor-

estry landscapes in drylands can help alleviate poverty and

contribute to food security and sustainable livelihoods for

2 billion people worldwide. Many drylands countries are

developing and piloting approaches and technologies to

support sustainable management and restoration of dryland

forests and agroforestry systems.

Over the past several years, these technical practices were

fine-tuned and tested and a number of packages for the

best management of water and land, including reducing

land degradation, were developed. However, to achieve

better adoption by farmers and ensure positive results

from their implementation, suitable techniques/technolo-

gies need to be disseminated on a large scale to similar dry

areas. Identifying areas similar to those of the benchmark

research sites where technologies are developed is a tool to

facilitate the scaling-out process.

In many countries, the dissemination of improved tech-

nologies does not usually take into consideration the

specificities of the agroecosystems. Consequently, the effi-

ciencies of the technology transfer programmes remain

low. Benchmarking has provided an approach that helps

identify areas similar to those where the improved tech-

nologies were developed. This starts with the selection and

characterization of a benchmark site in an agroecosystem;

then improved technologies are developed and evaluated

in this site and, finally, similar areas to the benchmark site

are identified and mapped to better target the out-scaling

on a large scale.

Similarity analyses are used to find areas with certain

characteristics that match those where technologies were

tested and fine-tuned. Similarity maps were generated at

the regional level using expert criteria, defined by an inter-

disciplinary team and using the available datasets. Among

the factors used to develop these criteria are the soil,

climate, land use and water resources. Suitability analyses

are used within the similar areas at the national level, to

identify areas where the water and land management pack-

ages developed can be applied with a high probability of

success. Professionals, planners and decision makers can

use the information and products generated from these

analyses to target the scaling-out of improved and adap-

tive technologies.

The purpose of these analyses was to identify geographic

locations for scaling out. A follow-up socioeconomic

analysis would be needed at the community level before

interventions can be implemented. This should be

supported by a proper enabling environment to enhance

adoption by the communities.

Areas similar to the rangeland benchmark research site in Jordan and potential areas for scaling out

mechanized water harvesting intervention

Source: Similarity and Suitability Analysis to Assist the Out-Scaling of Sustainable Water and Land Management Practices in West Asia and North Africa. ICARDA

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