Focal Area: Reversal of Land Degradation to assure ecosystem services and food security
Geographic coverage: National
Duration: The National Action Programme is prepared for 2015-2014
Implementing agency: Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment
Donor/source of funding: Secretariat of the UNCCD, Global Environmental Facility (GEF), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Global Mechanism (GM) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Budget: not available
Brief summary of activities and relevance to SLM FAO project.
The project aims to take many measures to curb land degradation which are focused on:
- Forest lands/wetlands/grasslands: Restoring degraded forestlands; establishing new forest plantations; strengthen institutional and regulatory frameworks.
- Plantations: adopting soil and water conservation measures in annual and plantation croplands.
- Legislation/policies/plans: Updating and operationalizing the Soil Conservation Act; updating and operationalizing legislature aimed at controlling sand mining and to reduce land degradation stemming from gem mining; introduce legislations to avoid fragmentation; change policy to control encroachment of state lands; formulate a National Land Use Plan which would facilitate sustainable development while protecting the natural capital; Developing a National Physical Plan.
- Controlling farming activities: halting the cultivation of annual crops in lands which are steep and to facilitate the conversion of such lands into perennial crops; providing incentives to encourage the practice of sustainable land management practices;
- Institutional aspects: improving coordination among institutions to help in the development of plans mentioned above.
- Incorporate the LDN into national programmes focused on climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. (Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, 2017a)