The U.N. estimates about 30 million acres of land across the globe are impacted by desertification every year. The most vulnerable region is a 3,000-mile stretch of land that includes ten countries in the Sahel region of Africa. The Sahel is the area between the Saharan Desert and the Sudanian Savannah.
What area in Africa is most affected by desertification?
The report stated that Africa’s desert and dryland areas are concentrated in the Sahelian region, the Horn of Africa and the Kalahari in the south and that land degradation affects at least 485 million people (65% of the entire African population).
What region of Africa does desertification occur in?
Fire is a primary cause of desertification in the Sahel region of North Africa , where the degradation of drylands is especially pronounced. The degradation of drylands in Africa is forcing people who can no longer make a living off the land to move to urban areas.
Which areas are most at risk of desertification?
A recently published JRC study identified the following geographic regions as prone to desertification: north-eastern Brazil, south-western Argentina, the southern Sahel, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Sub-Himalayan India, and north-eastern China .
Which region is in danger of desertification?
“The greatest risk of desertification (7.6 out of 10 on a scale produced using various desertification indicators) is in the subtropical desert regions — North Africa , the countries of the Middle East, Australia, South West China and the western edge of South America,” the scientist explains.
What are the 3 main causes of desertification in Africa?
- Overgrazing. ...
- Deforestation. ...
- Farming Practices. ...
- Excessive Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides. ...
- Overdrafting of groundwater. ...
- Urbanization and Other Types of Land Development. ...
- Climate Change. ...
- Stripping the Land of Resources.
Why is Africa at risk of desertification?
Poverty-related agricultural practices are a major contributor to desertification. Continuous cultivation without adding supplements, overgrazing, lack of soil and water conservation structures, and indiscriminate bushfires aggravate the process of desertification.
Where is desertification occurring today?
Africa is the simple answer to the question: where is desertification happening? More specifically, desertification plays its largest role in the grasslands of East Africa , the Kalahari Desert and the Sahara Desert. These regions span over 65 percent of the land.
Where is the risk of drought in Africa?
The figure shows that the lowest risk ratio is found in Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya , respectively, all of which are located in northern Africa. Despite the substantial increase of drought hazard in these three countries, they all indicate decreasing vulnerability and low changes in exposure.
How can we prevent desertification?
- Planting more trees – the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain.
- Improving the quality of the soil – this can be managed by encouraging people to reduce the number of grazing animals they have and grow crops instead.
What is the main cause of desertification?
‘Climatic variations’ and ‘Human activities’ can be regarded as the two main causes of desertification. removal of the natural vegetation cover(by taking too much fuel wood), agricultural activities in the vulnerable ecosystems of arid and semi-arid areas, which are thus strained beyond their capacity.
Are deserts growing or shrinking?
During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities . Paleodeserts are large sand seas now inactive because they are stabilized by vegetation, some extending beyond the present margins of core deserts, such as the Sahara, the largest hot desert.
What are the negative effects of desertification?
Higher food prices, water availability, violent conflicts for land, migration , increasing poverty, pollution from wind-blown dust particles coming from distant lands, could be the outcomes of desertification if we let it consume more of our planet.
What percentage of the world is at risk of desertification?
Over one third of the world’s land surface (38 percent) is threatened with desertification, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
How can desertification affect humans?
Land degradation and desertification can affect human health through complex pathways . As land is degraded and deserts expand in some places, food production is reduced, water sources dry up and populations are pressured to move to more hospitable areas. ... the spread of infectious diseases as populations migrate.
How much of the world is desertified?
More than 1.5 billion people directly depend on land that is slowly being degraded. Every year 75 billion tons of fertile soil is lost to land degradation. Similarly 12 million hectares of land are lost every year to desertification and drought alone. This is an area that could produce 20 million tons of grain.
