https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-desertification.php
Climate variation and harmful human activities are causing loss to the dryland. This degradation in the land resources and loss in biodiversity is desertification. Except for Antarctica, all other continents are getting affected by it. Millions of people are sacrificing their livelihood because of growing desertification problems. The most affected are poor people living in the drylands.
The U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) also calls it as degradation of land in arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid areas. They say this happens because of various factors. Climatic variations and human activities are the main among those. Land degradation leads to loss of the biological or economic productivity of drylands.
In 2000, drylands used to occupy 41% of Earth’s land area. These lands cover homes of at least one-third of the human population. The numbering count of this population is 2 billion people, which is a very large size.
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People get a lot of benefits from the ecosystem as they depend on it for their survival needs. For instance, we get crops, forage, and wood. Due to the shortage of water in drylands production of such services gets limited. The ecosystem of areas with desertification is not able to please the needs of people. Continuous reduction in the services provided by the ecosystem is a result of water scarcity. Over extraction of nature’s resources and services, and climate change is a greater threat in drylands than in non-dryland.
Areas that are more prone to desertification are:
- The Sub-Saharan
- Central Asian drylands
It occurs because of a long-term failure to balance human expectations for services of the ecosystem. Supply from the ecosystem might not be enough to meet human demand. Human has increased the pressure on the dryland ecosystem for meeting various needs:
- food
- forage
- fuel
- building materials
- water for human uses
- livestock
- irrigation
- sanitation
A combination of factors such as population pressure, land use patterns, and droughts affect it. It is hard to understand these factors on a global and regional scale. Understanding it on the local level is much easier.
http://www.fao.org/gef/dryland-sustainable-landscapes/en/
Near about 10 to 20% of drylands are affected by the degradation. We are not taking action even after witnessing this situation. Our ignorance of desertification will threaten future improvements in human well-being. It might also reverse the achieved gains in some regions. Thus, desertification is one of the leading problems in environmental issues. It is also the reason which is keeping humans in dryland deprived of their basic needs.
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Reasons: social, economic, and policy
https://helpsavenature.com/causes-effects-of-desertification/amp
Many policies require changes. They lead to unsustainable use of resources. The factor which is a major contributor to land degradation is the lack of adequate infrastructures. Agriculture can be a key to reduce as well as increase desertification. The way we manage it plays a significant role in deciding its positive or negative impact. Local institutions can join their hands to prevent desertification. They can take a huge step by spreading awareness to land users to manage and use ecosystem services effectively. This can be done by enhancing access to productive land, capital, labor, and technology.
The policy is which is more effective than nomadic herding sedentary farming rather than can contribute to it. 65% of dryland areas which is a majority are rangelands. Grazing is more suitable to them than the production of crops. If we sedentarism nomads and limit their movements it may lead to desertification. The reason behind it is the reduction in their ability to adjust their economic activities. This increases in the face of stresses such as droughts.A lot of times farmers and herders lose control of the land they use. They might also get deprived of the long-term security of their land. This results in the loss of incentives for maintaining environmentally sustainable practices. This is the major contributor to the desertification of the affected areas. You do not necessarily need private property rights for gaining control and security. Collective and community-based management practices can also prove to be effective. We have no idea how disruptive our decisions can impact the environment.
It may lead to the crisis such as:
- water scarcity in the areas of drylands
- groundwater depletion and reduction in the water table
- soil erosion due to over-extraction of the resources
- salinization of the water resources
Role of Globalisation
https://helpsavenature.com/causes-effects-of-desertification/amp
The process of globalization can be both antidotes as well as poison desertification. It is a link between local, national, sub-regional, regional, and global factors. Investigations say in dryland areas trade liberalization, macroeconomic reforms can lead to desertification. One of the main reasons is attention on raising agricultural and livestock production for exports.
Government policies can alter food production and consumption needs.
Many food crops in the European Union and the U.S. are produced more than their needs. The reason behind this is :
- Production of selective goods
- export subsidies
This leads to drive-in prices in the international market. The livelihoods are undermined by many food producers in poorer countries due to it. International trade barriers removal without any regulation at a national level can be a problem. It might lead to an acceleration in unsustainable agricultural practices.
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Steps we can take to diminish the growing desertification
https://desertification.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/how-to-prevent-desertification-in-nw-china/amp/
Desertification is still growing and not at the peak. We can take action right now to prevent the world from severe damage. A shift in the attitude of people and the government can bring changes. If we change our way of doing agriculture and start to do it in a more sustainable way a lot of changes can happen.
Preventive measures we can take:
- Water management system for protecting soil erosion, salinization, and degradation.
- Protection of the vegetative cover.
- Soil conservation against wind and water erosion.
- Combining traditional practices with land-use technologies.
- Generation of economic opportunities.
