Tunisia: Programme d’action national de lutte contre la désertification 2000
The National Action Program to Combat Desertification is an instrument with national scope that aims to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in the semi-arid environments of northern Tunisia and the arid environments of central and southern Tunisia. To achieve these objectives, the program recommends the application of long-term integrated strategies focused simultaneously in the affected areas on improving land productivity as well as their rehabilitation, leading to improving living conditions. Life, particularly at the community level.
As part of more productive and sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishing, the program envisages the improvement of natural, collective and private pathways and their biological consolidation to ensure the sustainability of the structures and reduce the pressure on forests and rangelands. For the conservation of natural resources, the program recommends the maintenance of all species that make up plant associations and the conservation of arable soil.
Regarding the maintenance or improvement of production potential, it provides: (i) maintenance or improvement of soil productivity by considering its physical properties reflecting the storage capacity for water and nutrients and directly influencing vulnerability to drought, as well as its chemical properties reflected mainly by its richness in organic matter; (ii) maintenance or improvement of the productivity of spontaneous or cultivated vegetation. Measures for the rehabilitation of degraded or partially degraded lands, as well as measures for the restoration of desertified lands, are envisaged.
In addition, the participation of the populations concerned is considered a constant in the fight against desertification. Special attention is devoted to Collective Interest Associations and Agricultural Services Cooperatives in this context. The program envisages the decentralization of the Ministry of Agriculture by setting up within the Regional Agricultural Development Commissions (CRDA) structures, allowing the application of the participatory approach, the strengthening of capacities for analysis and evaluation of investment projects and their socio-economic and environmental impact, as well as sectoral policy measures promoting the rational exploitation of natural resources. Chapter 5 is devoted to the involvement of the population and NGOs in the fight against desertification. It envisages partnership and cooperation between public authorities, local authorities, NGOs and operators in this context.