A summary of desertification

Desertification and Rehabilitation Fig. Ratifying countries are considered Parties to the Treaty, responsible for its implementation. Australian Geoff Lawton, a permaculture consultant, designer and teacher, has made it his mission to bring life back to arid regions.

Studies have shown that, in many environments, the rate of erosion and runoff decreases exponentially with increased vegetation cover. Desertification and global warming are intricately connected. Some of it is immediately released from vegetation as chlorophyll fluorescence and other shortwave infrared radiation that escapes to space unhindered red dotted arrow.

Parts of the Judean Mountains have seen extreme degradation and complete soil loss to the extent that large slabs of bare rock are now exposed. Enhanced fodder production would strongly reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of animal husbandry, because of reduced fodder import and transport needs.

There is a suggestion that the last time that the Sahara was converted from savanna to desert it was partially due to overgrazing by the cattle of the local population. Many observers agree that the confluence of poverty and land degradation contribute to diverse social problems, including famine, civil strife, and mass migration.

Yattir Forest Convective Clouds Soil Hydrology of Desertification and Rehabilitation Desertification dramatically alters the hydrology of the degraded soil surfaces. The Livelihoods Fund finances three types of projects: These approaches are being put to use at Project Wadi Attir, where we have just reaped the benefits of the first harvests of olives and pomegranates, fodder and biomass production are increasing, and carbon sequestration by planted trees and restored soils are already setting in Fig.

Further warming is expected to result in serious environmental impacts all around the world. The large-scale impact of historical land degradation has been modeled and analyzed by Ruddiman This wall is a much larger-scale version of what American farmers did in the s to stop the great Midwest dust bowl.

They were widely encouraged by development agencies from the middle of the s in the Sahel area of Africa. A classical example of desertification from ancient times. The fourth COP adopted a fifth regional annex to the Treaty, for Central and Eastern Europe, to provide particular guidance for Treaty implementation in that region.

Other countries may become Parties 90 days after their ratification of the Treaty. The loss of topsoil means that plants cannot take root firmly and can be uprooted by torrential water or strong winds. The Treaty creates a Conference of the Parties comprised of all ratifying countries.

Vegetation plays a major role in determining the biological composition of the soil. When unfavourable agro-climatic conditions are combined with an absence of infrastructure and access to markets, as well as poorly adapted production techniques and an underfed and undereducated population, most such zones are excluded from development.

However, the Department has resisted efforts to designate the GEF as the funding mechanism for the Treaty. These measures may be difficult or controversial to implement in particular areas, because they may require changes in longstanding practices.

Project Wadi Attir is a small, but fully integrated and holistic effort to demonstrate and quantify those complex interactions while providing significant economic and social gains. Controversially, Allan Savory has claimed that the controlled movement of herds of livestock, mimicking herds of grazing wildlife, can reverse desertification.

The Senate also agreed to the understanding that the U. One less difficult solution that has been proposed, [49] however controversial it may be, is to bring about a cap on the population growth, and in fact to turn this into a population decay, so that each year there will gradually exist fewer and fewer humans who require the land to be depleted even further in order to grow their food.

In light of these facts, the huge environmental and economic potential of ecosystem restoration, especially in degraded dryland environments, becomes acutely evident.

Countries may bring the Treaty into force through procedures other than ratification. Freshwater scarcity, which already affects billion people globally, is expected to increase, causing greater stresses in drylands and ultimately a worsening of desertification.

Developing country Parties affected by desertification are committed to develop and implement national, sub-regional, and regional action programs. The black and grey areas have been profoundly degraded and in part transformed to deserts, a process that already took place more than 2, years ago.

The Treaty establishes entities to support the COP. For example, tillage for agriculture, overgrazing, and deforestation for fuel or construction materials. The better known issues of climate change and loss of biodiversity are both rooted in the global loss of fertile soilsaid Gnacadja, as the soil harbours a huge stock of carbon and the health of creatures living in the soil underpins global food production and forest growth.

For example, action programs must include long-term strategies, provide for effective participation of local populations and non-governmental organizations, emphasize preventive measures, and be flexible and modified as needed.

A mathematical model of this phenomenon proposed by C. Can Livestock Grazing Stop Desertification? Overgrazing has been a major cause of the creeping advance of deserts worldwide, but new management techniques might make livestock part of the solution.

This Digest is a faithful summary of the leading scientific consensus report produced in by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA): ' Desertification Synthesis Report'. Desertification Essay Examples. 11 total results. The Major Causes of Desertification of the Earth.

words. 1 page. The Purpose of the Zoo. words. 1 page. Causes of Desertification. words. 1 page. An Introduction to the Process of Desertification. 3, words. 7 pages. Desertification Treaty: Evolution, Summary, and Status Summary Desertification—land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid land areas—is generally attributed to a combination of climatic variations and human activities.

It threatens one-quarter of the world’s land, and about a billion people. Water in development Desertification: an ecological reality or a dangerous myth?

John Magrath A new book asserts that desertification is a meaningless concept and the policies to reverse it are. Summary for Decision-makers Desertification is defined by the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification as “land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.”.

A summary of desertification