Combating desertification in Sudan: experiences and lessons learned, Dr. Sarra A. M. Saad, Adil M. A. Seedahmed, Prof. Allam Ahmed, Sufyan A. M. Ossman, Ahmed M. A. Eldoma
Sarra A.M. Saad(1) Adil M.A. Seedahmed(2) Allam Ahmed(3 )Sufyan A.M. Ossman(4) Ahmed M.A. Eldoma(5)
1.National Centre for Research Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research PO Box 6096, 11111, Khartoum-Sudan Email: soilsarra@gmail.com 2.Ministry of Agriculture, Khartoum-Sudan 3.Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) School of Business, Management & Economics Jubilee Building, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9SL, United Kingdom Email: allam@sussex.ac.uk 4.Khartoum Refinery Company Ministry of Oil, Khartoum-Sudan 5.Faculty of Forestry & Range Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology Ministry of Higher Education, Khartoum-Sudan.
DOI: 10.47556/B.OUTLOOK2018.16.10
Problem statement: Sudan is the largest (2.5 million km2) country most seriously affected by desertification in Africa. The arid and semi-arid lands cover an area of 1.78 million km2, which represents about 72% of the country’s total area1. Sudan has collaborated with and contributed to the International efforts to combat desertification. It is one of the first countries that signed the United Nations Convection to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and assigned the National Drought and Desertification Control Unit (NDDCU) for the coordination of programmes to mitigate the effects of drought and to combat desertification as a focal point. Since the 1930s, programmes to combat desertification and its component projects and interventions have been launched in Sudan through technical and financial assistance (local and international) to improve land resources, production systems, and protection of the environment. Sudan, like other African countries, needs plant cover: an earlier study for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicated that Sudan has lost between 250,000 and 1,250,000 hectares of the total area of its forests since 2005; this is the main reason for the expansion of the desertification phenomenon. Therefore, unless serious and immediate action is pursued, the gap between the sustainability of resources and the degree of exploitation will widen further
Objectives: The objective of this paper is to review the efforts taken by Sudan in combating desertification from governmental and private sectors, and to assess the reasons for the failure of past efforts to combat desertification.
Methodology: Previous acts and agreements from National and International sources have been collected. The hazards of desertification and their impacts on economic and social lives have been evaluated.
Findings: Many conclusions and lessons emerged from previous experiences of government, NGOs, civil society and private sectors in implementing desertification programmes in Sudan. The analytical review of Sudan desertification policies showed a lack of an intersectoral approach that integrates forestry activities and land use into the social, economic and developmental process of the country. They also lacked linkages to other sectors that use and actually compete for the available natural resources.
Values: Therefore it was recommended that capacity building, public awareness, and integration of NGOs, governmental sectors including research institutions, ministries and international organisations is urgently needed.
Keywords: Sudan; desertification; conflicts; environment
