@book{fdi:010097827,
  title = {{I}nterdisciplinary approach to reverse land degradation and restore terrestrial ecosystems in drylands : documenting the co-design of an international doctoral course},
  author = {{R}izzo, {D}avide and {M}alam {I}ssa, {O}umarou and {S}ougueh, {C}. and {L}{\'e}onard, {E}ric and {D}aher, {A}. and {M}ohamed, {J}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{L}arge-scale sustainable land management programmes addressing dryland degradation



demand interdisciplinary approaches, yet academic training often reinforces disciplinary silos.



{T}his study documents the co-design of an international doctoral course utilising the {G}reat



{G}reen {W}all in {D}jibouti as a case study to foster epistemic integration among early-career



researchers. {A}nchored in transformative learning theory, the methodology combined online



theoretical framing with immersive, shared fieldwork across three contrasting sites, engaging



sixteen {P}h{D} students and fourteen researchers in multicultural, multidisciplinary teams. {T}he



co-design process involved forty actors over one year, culminating in field-based landscape



analysis, soil characterisation, and semi-structured interviews. {F}indings reveal that while



shared fieldwork successfully disrupted silos and cultivated systemic interdisciplinary



competencies, participants experienced tension between disciplinary habits and the need for



integrated problem-framing, highlighting the necessity for stronger pre-field methodological



guidelines. {C}rucially, the process catalysed an epistemic shift: participants moved beyond



sectoral diagnostics to reframe sustainability as an integration of biophysical degradation and



social marginalisation. {T}heoretically, this demonstrates that place-based, confrontational



learning can bridge the divide between biophysical and sociotechnical perspectives, offering a



relevant pedagogical model for addressing {S}ustainable {D}evelopment {G}oal 15. {F}inally, the



course emerges as an intermediary object that can inform the cross-sectoral framing of



scientific diplomacy for land management research in the {S}ahel.},
  keywords = {{DJIBOUTI} ; {SAHEL}},
  address = {{M}ontpellier},
  publisher = {{CIHEAM}},
  series = {},
  pages = {en ligne [7 ]},
  year = {2026},
  DOI = {10.5281/zenodo.21826712},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010097827},
}