Governance in combating desertification in Peru

Considered one of the global environmental problems, desertification – land degradation in arid regions – has been high in the international agenda since the 1970s. However, its solution is far from being achieved, partly due to its complex and site-specific chain of causes and partly to the inefficacy of the institutional arrangements devised to tackle it: the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and its national implementation. Drawing on the literature on governance for natural resource management, this book analyses the desertification control strategy in Peru focusing on Apurimac, a poor region in the southern Andes suffering land degradation due to frequent droughts, sloping terrain, inadequate irrigation practices, deforestation and pasture burning. Using secondary literature, interviews with authorities and participatory workshops with farmers, the linkages between organisations and institutions for managing natural resources in the region and their relation with the formal strategy to combat desertification are explored. This book is of interest to policy-makers and practitioners in the field of rural development and natural resource management in mountain areas.