{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T07:46:50Z","timestamp":1771660010149,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,14]],"date-time":"2015-01-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1421193600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Land"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Severe land degradation has strongly affected both people\u2019s livelihood  and the environment in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese), a natural  resource poor country. Despite the enormous investment in soil and water  conservation measures (SWC or SLM), which are visible throughout the  landscape, and the recognition of their benefits, their biophysical and  socioeconomic impacts have been poorly assessed and scientifically  documented. This paper contributes to filling this gap, by bringing  together insights from literature and policy review, field survey and  participatory assessment in the Ribeira Seca Watershed through a  concerted approach devised by the DESIRE project (the \u201cDesire  approach\u201d). Specifically, we analyze government strategies towards  building resilience against the harsh conditions, analyze the state of  land degradation and its drivers, survey and map the existing SWC  measures, and assess their effectiveness against land degradation, on  crop yield and people\u2019s livelihood. We infer that the relative success  of Cape Verde in tackling desertification and rural poverty owes to an  integrated governance strategy that comprises raising awareness,  institutional framework development, financial resource allocation,  capacity building, and active participation of rural communities. We  recommend that specific, scientific-based monitoring and assessment  studies be carried out on the biophysical and socioeconomic impact of  SLM and that the \u201cDesire approach\u201d be scaled-up to other watersheds in  the country.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/land4010022","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,14]],"date-time":"2015-01-14T10:33:15Z","timestamp":1421231595000},"page":"22-44","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Soil and Water Conservation Strategies in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in  Portuguese) and Their Impacts on Livelihoods: An Overview from the  Ribeira Seca Watershed"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Isaurinda","family":"Baptista","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Nacional de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Desenvolvimento Agr\u00e1rio (INIDA), CP 84, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"},{"name":"Soil Physics and Land Management group, Wageningen University (WUR), 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6843-0910","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luuk","family":"Fleskens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Physics and Land Management group, Wageningen University (WUR), 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds,  Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}]},{"given":"Coen","family":"Ritsema","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soil Physics and Land Management group, Wageningen University (WUR), 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Querido","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environment, Energy & Natural Disaster Prevention Unit, Office of United Nations, PO Box 62, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"}]},{"given":"Jacques","family":"Tavares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Nacional de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Desenvolvimento Agr\u00e1rio (INIDA), CP 84, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5686-9192","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CERNAS, Escola Superior Agr\u00e1ria de Coimbra, Bencanta, P-3040-316 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Eduardo","family":"Reis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Nacional de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Desenvolvimento Agr\u00e1rio (INIDA), CP 84, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"}]},{"given":"Samuel","family":"Gomes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Nacional de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Desenvolvimento Agr\u00e1rio (INIDA), CP 84, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"}]},{"given":"Anabela","family":"Varela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Direc\u00e7\u00e3o geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural (DGADR\/DSER), CP 115, 7600 Praia, Cape Verde"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Wong, T.S.W. 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