Appraising and selecting strategies to combat and mitigate desertification based on stakeholder knowledge and globalbest practices in Cape Verde Archipelago

Cape Verde is considered part of Sahelian Africa, where drought and desertification are common occurrences. The main activity of the rural population is rain-fed agriculture, which over time has been increasingly challenged by high temporal and spatial rainfall variability, lack of inputs, limited land area, fragmentation of land, steep slopes, pests, lack of mechanization and loss of top soil by water erosion. Human activities, largely through poor farming practices and deforestation (Gomez, 1989) have accelerated natural erosion processes, shifting the balance between soil erosion and soil formation (Norton, 1987). According to previous studies, vegetation cover is one of the most important factors in controlling soil loss (Cyr et al., 1995; Hupy, 2004; Zhang et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2006). For this reason, reforestation is a touchstone of the Cape Verdean policy to combat desertification. After Independence in 1975, the Cape Verde government had pressing and closely entangled environmental and socio-economic issues to address, as long-term desertification had resulted in a lack of soil cover, severe soil erosion and a scarcity of water resources and fuel wood. Across the archipelago, desertification was resulting from a variety of processes including poor farming practices, soil erosion by water and wind, soil and water salinity in coastal areas due to over pumping and seawater intrusion, drought and unplanned urbanization (DGA-MAAP, 2004). All these issues directly affected socio-economic vulnerability in rural areas, where about 70% of people depended directly or indirectly on agriculture in 1975. By becoming part of the Inter- State Committee for the Fight against Drought in the Sahel in 1975, the government of Cape Verde gained structured support to address these issues more efficiently. Presentday policies and strategies were defined on the basis of rational use of resources and human efforts and were incorporated into three subsequent national plans: the National Action Plan for Development (NDP) (1982–1986), the NDP (1986–1990) and the NDP (1991–1995) (Carvalho

Relatório Final – XY-TECH

Este relatório se enquadra na cadeira de Simulação – Jogos de Marketing, do curso de licenciatura em Marketing, Gestão Comercial e Empreendedorismo ministrado pelo Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais em Cabo Verde. Se trata de um relatório final de tudo aquilo que foi desenvolvido com o uso do simulador do Marketplace6, onde foi aplicado todos os conhecimentos apreendidos até hoje no curso, através da simulação da gestão de uma empresa de microcomputadores, a XY-TECH. Apresenta a evolução financeira da empresa ao longo dos dois anos da sua actividade, as estratégias de marketing desenvolvidas para que fosse possível garantir a sua sustentabilidade no mercado, o seu desempenho ao longo dos tempos e sua visão para o futuro. A experiência do uso deste simulador permitiu saber concretamente aquilo que se passa dentro das empresas em termos de gestão e tomada de decisão, bem como o trabalho em equipa, onde se pode aplicar todos os conhecimentos adquiridos nas outras cadeiras do curso. Traz como resultados competências em saber fazer na prática e habilidade em saber trabalhar em grupo.This report falls under the Simulation Chair - Marketing Games, degree course in Marketing, Business Management and Entrepreneurship taught by the School of Economics and Management in Cape Verde. It is a final report of all that has been developed using the Marketplace6 simulator, where it was applied all the knowledge acquired to date on the course, through the simulation of running a microcomputer company, XY-TECH. Presents the financial performance of the company over the two years of its activity, marketing strategies developed to make it possible to ensure their sustainability in the market, its performance over time and its vision for the future. The experience of using this simulator allowed to know precisely what is happening inside the company in terms of management and decision making, as well as team work, where you can apply all the knowledge acquired in other ongoing chairs. Brings results as skills in knowing how to do in practice and ability to know how to work in groups.