Latest environmental news, features and updates. Pictures, video and more. Please find a list of our global and regional case studies below. To access the countryspecific case studies please click on the round beige scientific case studies. Biodiversity, a portmanteau of bio life and diversity, generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. According to the United Nations. How Unsustainable Human Activities Cause Desertification In India' title='How Unsustainable Human Activities Cause Desertification In India' />Scientific Facts on Desertification. Home Desertification. Level 1. Context Desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems. It threatens the livelihoods of some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations on. Desertification is largely caused by unsustainable use of scarce resources. What options exist to avoid or reverse desertification and its negative. Latest update 1. October 2. What is desertification Desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by variations in climate and human activities. Home to a third of the human population in 2. Earths land area. Across the world, desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people who rely on the benefits that dryland ecosystems can provide. In drylands, water scarcity limits the production of crops, forage, wood, and other servicesecosystems provide to humans. Drylands are therefore highly vulnerable to increases in human pressures and climatic variability, especially sub Saharan and Central Asian drylands. Some 1. 0 to 2. 0 of drylands are already degraded, and ongoing desertification threatens the worlds poorest populations and the prospects of poverty reduction. Therefore, desertification is one of the greatest environmental challenges today and a major barrier to meeting basic human needs in drylands. More. 2. How are desertification and human well being linked In drylands, more people depend on ecosystem services for their basic needs than in any other ecosystem. Indeed, many of their resources, such as crops, livestock, fuelwood, and construction materials, depend on the growth of plants, which in turn depends on water availability and climate conditions. Fluctuations in the services supplied by ecosystems are normal, especially in drylands, where water supply is irregular and scarce. However, when a dryland ecosystem is no longer capable to recover from previous pressures, a downward spiral of desertification may follow, though it is not inevitable. More. 2. 2 Desertification affects a wide range of services provided by ecosystems to humans products such as food and water, natural processes such as climate regulation, but also non material services such as recreation, and supporting services such as soil conservation. Changes can be quantified and methods are available to prevent, reduce, or reverse them. When faced with desertification, people often respond by making use of land that is even less productive, transforming pieces of rangeland into cultivated land, or moving towards cities or even to other countries. This can lead to unsustainable agricultural practices, further land degradation, exacerbated urban sprawl, and socio political problems. More. 3. Who is affected by desertification Desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people, as it occurs on all continents except Antarctica. Women often play a key role in water management in drylands MauritaniaSource MA 3. Desertification takes place in drylands all over the world. Some 1. 0 to 2. 0 of all drylands may already be degraded, but the precise extent of desertification is difficult to estimate, because few comprehensive assessments have been made so far. More. 3. 2 A large majority of drylandpopulations live in developing countries. Compared to the rest of the world, these populations lag far behind in terms of human well being, per capita income, and infant mortality. The situation is worst in the drylands of Asia and Africa. Dryland populations are often marginalized and unable to play a role in decision making processes that affect their well being, making them even more vulnerable. More. 3. 3 Desertification has environmental impacts that go beyond the areas directly affected. Dry Riser Inlet Box Installation Height Of Cattle on this page. For instance, loss of vegetation can increase the formation of large dust clouds that can cause health problems in more densely populated areas, thousands of kilometers away. Moreover, the social and political impacts of desertification also reach non dryland areas. For example, human migrations from drylands to cities and other countries can harm political and economic stability. More. 4. What are the major causes of desertification Desertification is caused by a combination of social, political, economic, and natural factors which vary from region to region. Water erosion and reduced soil conservation in semi arid Burkina Faso negatively affects ecosystem services. Source MA 4. 1 Policies that can lead to an unsustainable use of resources and lack of infrastructures are major contributors to land degradation. Agriculture can play either a positive or a negative role, depending on how it is managed. Policies favoring sedentary farming over nomadic herding in regions more suited to grazing can contribute to desertification. More. 4. 2 The process of globalization both contributes to desertification and helps prevent it. Studies have shown that, in some cases, trade liberalization, economic reforms, and export oriented production in drylands can promote desertification. In other cases, enlarged markets outside of the drylands also contribute to successful agricultural improvements. More. 4. 3 Historically, dryland livelihoods have been based on a mixture of hunting, gathering, farming, and herding. This mixture varied with time, place, and culture, since the harsh conditions forced people to be flexible in land use. Population growth has led to the extension of cultivated lands and the irrigation of these lands has brought about desertification, as well as other environmental problems. More. 5. How will different future development paths influence desertification Population growth and increased food demand are expected to drive the expansion and intensification of land cultivation in drylands. If no countermeasures are taken, desertification in drylands will threaten future improvements in human well being and possibly reverse gains in some regions. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment developed four plausible scenarios to explore the future of desertification and human well being until 2. The different scenarios are based on either increased globalization or increased regionalization, each combined with either a reactive or proactive way of addressing environmental issues. More. A farmer in semi arid Burkina Faso works as a blacksmith during the dry season Source MA 5. In all four scenarios, the desertified area is expected to increase, though not at the same pace. Poverty and unsustainableland use practices will continue to be the main factors driving desertification in the near future, and climate change will also play a role. More. 5. 3 Local adaptation and conservation practices can mitigate some losses of drylandservices, but it will be difficult to reverse losses in terms of biodiversity and in the provision of food and water which is linked to biodiversity. Freshwater scarcity, which already affects 1 2 billion people globally, is expected to increase, causing greater stresses in drylands and ultimately a worsening of desertification. The implementation of the U. N. Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD would be particularly difficult in a regionalized reactive world Order from strength scenario, while prospects would improve in a more globalized world with proactive ecosystem management Techno. Garden scenario. More. How can we prevent or reverse desertification Effective prevention of desertification requires management and policy approaches that promote sustainable resource use. Prevention should be preferred to rehabilitation, which is difficult and costly. Terracing prevents further gully erosion and stores surface runoff for olive production Tunisia Source MA 6. Major policy interventions and changes in management approaches, both at local and global levels, are needed in order to prevent, stop or reverse desertification. Prevention is a lot more cost effective than rehabilitation, and this should be taken into account in policy decisions.