WATER CRISIS
conserve water, conserve life
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in which a semi-arid region becomes increasingly arid and typically loses wildlife, vegetation, and bodies of water in the process. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification and one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. Desertification is caused by climate change, overgrazing, and human activities. If the percentage of desertification increases then water decreases in arid regions. No water means no vegetation and without any of those, life cannot be sustained.
Climate change is a shift in weather patterns, compared to the norms of the regional patterns. According to Washington State Department of Ecology article, “What is climate change,” Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the atmosphere are factors. Climate Change is causing rising sea levels; melting snow and ice; more extreme heat events, fires and drought; and more extreme storms, rainfall and floods. Scientists project that these trends will continue and in some cases accelerate, posing significant risks to human health, our forests, agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are vital to the economy, environment, and our quality of life. Regions are facing too little or too much rain fall, which is effecting the time of seasonal growing. "Annual average river runoff and water availability are projected to increase by 10-40% at high latitudes and in some wet tropical areas, and decrease by 10-30% over some dry regions at mid-latitudes and in the dry tropics” (climate change and desertification).
“The world's great deserts were formed by natural processes interacting over long intervals of time. During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities” (Desertification). Human activity factors such as deforestation and burning dry lands (bush burning) is having an effect on the environment. The biodiversity of the region is being effected due to the cutting down of trees, for making money and producing products (wood and charcoal). Once enough trees are gone, nothing is left to keep the soil in place. Eventually the soil will turn to dust and the land will be unfit for crops. . Without plants or trees then there will be no retention of water in the soil.
Lack of nutrients in the soil makes it hard for agriculture to prosper. Without agriculture many regions become poverty stricken and hunger turns to be a problem among populations. In many cases people migrate to new areas in search for fertile land and a good enough environment to survive in. “Far more people move within their homeland, or to adjacent countries. Case studies have shown that up to 20 percent of Malians move to Ivory Coast in search of agricultural work during years of drought, for example. But as temperatures rise and desertification increases, such safer places may be overwhelmed” (Rosenthal). If people are not educated, irresponsible farming will continue. There are problems such as cultivation of marginal lands and incorrect irrigation practices, which leads to salt buildup in the soil.
“Overgrazing reduces palatable plant leaf areas, which reduces interception of sunlight and plant growth. Plants become weakened and have reduced root length, and potentially the pasture sod can be weakened although in many locales overgrazing results in an increased sod vigour dominated by unpalatable grasses. The reduced root length makes the plants more susceptible to death during dry weather. A weakened sod allows weed seeds to germinate and grow” (Overgrazing).
Overgrazing occurs when plants do not have an extended period of time to recover from grazing. Animals in the earlier years were moved based on the availability of food and water in a region. Plants in arid regions are adapted to being grazed very sparsely because of the time it takes to grow. The movement of animals and minimizing grazing in one spot can slow the process of desertification. Along with the help of the manure left by animals, plants can have fertilizers to support with growth
• One quarter of the earth’s surface is threatened by desertification – an area of over 3.6 billion hectares.
• Since 1990, 6 million hectares of productive land are lost every year due to land degradation.
• The world’s drinking water supplies have fallen by almost two thirds since 1950.
• Every year, 12 million people die as a result of water shortages or contaminated drinking water.
• Desertification threatens the livelihoods of one billion people and has already made 135 million people homeless.
• Every year, desertification generates income losses totalling USD 42 billion.
• One of the basic premises of the UNCCD is that land degradation is both a cause and a consequence of rural poverty. Therefore, desertification makes for poverty, and poverty makes for further desertification.