One of the main barriers to scaling-up of SLM in many parts of the world is the existence of national policies that encourage poor stewardship of the land. To promote scaling up of SLM, countries may need to put in place policies that encourage good stewardship of the land while also fostering climate change adaptation and mitigation. Examples include: policies that improve efficiency of irrigation and water use especially in agriculture (e.g., improved pricing schemes for irrigation water), policies to prevent and combat land degradation (e.g., reforms in tenure practices, schemes to promote contour farming and cover cropping), policies for improved livestock management (e.g., schemes to improve pasture quality and prevent degradation of pastures), policies for cropland management (e.g., promoting use of improved crop varieties, agroforestry schemes, perennial cover cropping, rainwater harvesting schemes) (Mani et al., 2008).
