Desertification Essay -- essays research papers fc

The world’s drylands, contrary to popular misconceptions of being barren unproductive land, contain some of the most valuable and vital ecosystems on the planet. These dryland environments have surprising diversity and resiliency, supporting over two billion people, approximately thirty-five percent of the global population (UNEP, 2003). In fact, approximately seventy percent of Africans depend directly on drylands for their daily livelihood (UNEP, 2003). However, these precious and crucial areas are at a crossroad, endangered and threatened by the devastating process of desertification. There are over one hundred definitions for the term ‘desertification’, however the most widely used and current definition is as follows: desertification refers to the land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions due to human activities and climate variations, often leading to the permanent loss of soil productivity and the thinning out of the vegetative cover (U NCCD, 2003). It is important to note that desertification is not the expansion and contraction of deserts or hyper-arid territories, which grow and decrease both naturally and cyclically. French ecologist Louis Lavauden first used the term desertification in 1927 and French botanist Andre Aubreville, when witnessing the land degradation occurring in North and West Africa in 1949 popularized this term (Dregne, 242). The causes of desertification include overgrazing, overcultivation, deforestation and poor irrigation practices. Climatic variations, such as changes in wind speed, precipitation and temperature can influence or increase desertification rates, but they are not catalysts to the process- it is the exploitative actions of humans that trigger desertification (Glantz, 146). The most exploited area historically has been Africa. In the Sahel (transition zone between the Sahara and the Savanna) of West Africa during the period of 1968 to 1973, desertification was a main cause of the deaths of over 100,000 people and 12 million cattle, as well as the disruption of social organizations from villages to the national level (USGS, 1997). As a result of the catastrophic devastation in the Sahel, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1977, where an agreement was reached to eradicate desertification by the year 2000. Obviously this goal was not achi... ...esertification in Desert Margins.† 2002. . Smith, Olanrewaju, et al. â€Å"Desertification: Myths and Realities.† 10 June 1999. . Sweet, Lois. â€Å"Margins of Hope.† 26 May 1999. . Tiempo Climate. â€Å"Desertification and climate change.† 1993. . UNCCD: Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. â€Å"Knowledge Base.† 19 March 2003. . UNDP: United Nations Development Programme. â€Å"Drylands Development Centre.† 2003. . UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme. â€Å"Drylands.† 2003. USGS: United States Geological Survey. â€Å"Desertification.† 29 October 1997. . Warren, Andrew, et al. An assessment of desertification and land degradation in arid and semi-arid areas. London: International Institute for Environment and Development, 1988. Waser, Katherine. â€Å"The Convention to Combat Desertification Part 1: Africa and the Mediterranean.† 1996. . WHO Africa: World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. â€Å"Malaria Control.† 19 October 2003. WHO Denmark: World Health Organization. â€Å"Desertification and drought greatly affects Africans’ health.† 10 December 2002. . Wu, Jianguo. Desertification. Phoenix: Arizona State University West, Department of Life Sciences, 2001.