National Action Programme to Combat Land Degradation.

The National Action Programme to Combat Land Degradation (NAP) is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The goals of the NAP are: (i) to provide a framework for the implementation of the UNCCD; (ii) to implement UNCCD programmes and activities addressing other socio-economic problems such as poverty, in consistency with government's major goal of poverty alleviation; (iii) to highlight land degradation and desertification issues incorporated within the long-term plan; (iv) to define and demarcate all identified areas of land degradation in Dominica with the use of measurable and usable benchmarks and indicators; (v) to assess the needs of these degraded lands; (vi) to reinforce and develop all stakeholders engaged in land use and land management; (vii) to update and organize ecological restoration and conservation programmes to improve land conditions; (viii) to prioritize agro forestry for research among other land uses for and with local communities; (ix) to facilitate early detection of land degradation that will be cost effective by using local infrastructures and services to provide more reliable results.
The institutional framework will be strengthened for the implementation of the NAP. The activities and constituted coordination of all stakeholders from the Government will be integrated to meet land degradation issues. All institutional capacity available will be used in addressing land degradation. The resources from UNCCD will be channelled to meet project implementations. The awareness on land degradation issues will be increased among community members. The environmental education unit will coordinate all awareness programmes on land degradation. The modules highlighting land degradation will be developed to be used at all schools. Trainings will be conducted on land degradation mitigation measures.
Land use planning will be strengthened to complement all existing and future work on land degradation. Sustainable use of land resources will be actively promoted in land restoration activities. A strategy will be developed for sustainable use of major forest products in Dominica to manage the levels of exploitation. In addition, the NAP proposes programmes that promote the use of alternative fuel and energy resources and infrastructure development. The Environmental Coordinating Unit (ECU) is an established Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment and serve as the secretariat and focal point for all UNCCD activities.