Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in practice in the Kagera Basin: lessons learned for scaling up at landscape level
Knowledge is the basis for sustainable development, but successful implementation depends on understanding what works in the field and where to improve lives and the environment. This is why a new FAO book released in Rome – Sustainable Land Management in the Kagera Basin – presents sustainable land management techniques and approaches that have been tested and adapted by local practitioners in 26 districts of the Kagera basin, which is shared by Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Over 40 practitioners share their own learning experiences and results: rehabilitated lands, restored water flow in dried-up streams, higher crop and livestock yields, and fewer resource conflicts between the different groups who depend on natural resources. Smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa are struggling with land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change, which all contribute to food insecurity, poverty and out migration. An integrated ecosystems approach to managing land resources brings many benefits, but the only way to know if an approach works is to test it and then listen to the voices of those who implemented it.