With the purpose to efficiently and soundly implement government policies and programmes it is essential, first of all, to determine level of land erosion and destruction and category of desertification, then to identify where exactly these phenomena are taking place, to study which  consequences they have on the livelihoods of rural population and what kind of measures and how much investment is required to mitigate the  process.

Today we face an actual need to elaborate and pursue a methodology, which is based on scientific researches and findings of modern technologies and which can be developed into regulatory tool for collecting and analyzing within short period of time all basic data that can provide answers to all afore-mentioned questions.

Considering above-mentioned factors MNET is working towards elaboration of a standard methodology to monitor desertification and land degradation. It is important that the methodology is in line with a methodology proposed by UNCCD Science and Technology Council. They should also be feasible to be applied for determination category of desertification, level of land erosion and destruction and for identification their impact on socio-economics.

For this purpose CODEP supported an Advisory team that developed draft methodology for desertification monitoring. The draft was discussed at the workshop by the experts and scientists, comments of whom will be integrated into the draft and then submitted to MNET for final approval.