In the context of the ECLAC/GTZ project on indicators of the socioeconomic impact of desertification and land degradation, the authors of this book consider theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of desertification, and analyse their causes and consequences. Specifically, desertification is considered as a factor in the loss of sustainability, efficiency and equity in resource allocation and in the transgenerational distribution of well-being. On the basis of an econometric model, it is shown that the total factor productivity is less in the case of production units based in territories affected by desertifi cation, which explains the elasticity differential of land versus the gross production value of these areas.

The main factors that exercise pressure on natural resources are also identified. There is also a study of the costs of desertifi cation, which must be taken into account in the effort to adopt more efficient policies for the conservation of natural resources. The construction of socio-economic indicators relating to desertification takes place in this context, and consideration is given to the process of validating these measurements through consultation with the population in the affected areas of the puna in Argentina, in an arid region in the extreme south of the Atacama desert in Chile and in fifteen
communities in the region of Rio Grande del Norte, in the semiarid area of Brazil.