Agriculture and Desertification Essay

The macrocosms modifylands, contrary to popular misconceptions of being barren unproductive land, contain some of the most(prenominal) expensive and vital ecosystems on the planet. These dryland environments have surprising diversity and resiliency, emboldening oer two cardinal mess, round thirty-five percent of the global population (UNEP, 2003). In fact, approximately seventy percent of Africans depend in a flash on drylands for their daily livelihood (UNEP, 2003). However, these precious and crucial subject areas are at a crossroad, endangered and imperil by the devastating process of desertification.There are oer virtuoso hundred definitions for the term ? desertification, stock-still 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, oft leading to the permanent loss of alter productiveness and the press cutting out of the vegetative coer (UNCCD, 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(prenominal) indispensablely 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 worthless irrigation practices. Climatic variations, such as changes in wind speed, precipitation and temperature can influence or gain desertification rates, tho they are not catalysts to the process- it is the exploitive 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 t o 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 train (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 achieved. Countries and organizations, notably in the industrialized humanityly concern, have been unwilling to provide significant and sufficient financial and economic aid to countries most wedge by this issue (Mainguet, 2003). Consequently, desertification is out of control, threatening the sustainability of the worlds environment, disrupting social structures and well-being, and impairing economic growth. This crisis reaches beyond the local, directly modify communities, impacting and jeopardizing world stability.Envi ron rationally, desertification reduces the worlds fresh urine reserves due to water add up system over consumption and irrigation mismanagement, decreases hereditary diversity through soil erosion and plant destruction, and also accelerates the carbon re-sentencing process by damaging carbon ? sinks. Socially, desertification causes population displacement as people search for mend living conditions, often leading to conflicts and wars. Another social issue is a dramatic reduction in the worlds fodder supply due to the depletion of vital dryland vegetation and a lower in crop yields.Desertification is also linked to a number of wellness issues such as malnutrition, as gaudy water and sufficient food resources are extremely scarce. Economically, income potential is lost because land is unproductive, and financial property are devoted towards combating desertification, compromising economic growth and development. Crisis management becomes much important than achieving e conomic goals. Furthermore, increase levels of pauperisation have resulted due to dire economic conditions.The international body must devote more time, resources and energy to find effective and long-term solutions that will benefit not only directly- affected areas, but the world at large. The devastating environmental, social and economic ramifications of desertification must be addressed immediately, cooperatively and without hesitation, before the windowpane of opportunity is lost. Desertification has created and encouraged a number of major environmental problems, and has endangered the sustainability of a diverse and unfermented global environment.Through the use of poor irrigation practices and exploitative human actions for profit, water has been over consumed and desertification has occurred near areas ring fresh water supplies, reducing or depleting these reserves. In the desertification process, the shorelines and the aquatic land and soil becomes eroded, salinized an d libertine. Thus, feeder rivers decline in quantity and supply, river flow rates decrease and ultimately freshwater reserves are polluted and/or reduced. The reduction of river flow rates andthe lowering of groundwater levels leads to the silting up of estuaries, the encroachment of salt water into water tables, and the pollution of water by suspended lay outicles and salination (FAO, 2003). These problems are particularly limpid in the Aral Sea in Asia, which at one point was the fourth largest lake in the world (Aral Sea Homepage, 2002). During the Soviet era in the 1960s and 1970s, the communist central planners had little regard for water conservation, and over consumed this resource.In order to fall upon the demand for agricultural irrigation the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) diverted water from rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea (Pacific Island Travel Desertification, 1999). These exploitative actions dropped water levels by one-third because feeder rivers could no longer replenish the large lake, as illustrated in Appendix 1 (Pacific Island Travel Desertification, 1999). Not only has the shorelines of the Aral Sea declined, but Lake Chad in Africa has followed a uniform fate.Desertification in the Lake Chad region has dropped water levels far below the average dry season amount of 10,000 upstanding kilometers to only 839 square kilometers (Earth Crash Earth Spirit, 2001). The reduction of water levels in Lake Chad and the Aral Sea decreases their ability to discipline the local climate, resulting in more extreme variations in temperature and precipitation. Therefore, local ecosystems are disrupted and even destroyed, as the climate becomes more continental in nature, and vital water supplies are scarce or depleted.Desertification reduces the biodiversity and genetic diversity of dryland ecosystems, impairing the sustainability of plants, animals and even humans in these regions. As a consequence of desertification, the soil of ar id, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas becomes eroded, resulting in unproductive and literally useless land. This disrupts the habitats and food sources for many organisms, making sustainable life in these areas real difficult (FAO, 2003). Furthermore, because of freshwater and food scarcity, the life expectancy and actual existence for many species is exist.This grave consequence was evident in the western African country of Mauritania, where the desertification process, from 1970 to 1980, killed approximately 15,000 people and over 500,000 various plants and animals were eradicated (CIESIN, 2003). Unfortunately, as the severity of desertification escalates in countries akin Mauritania, it becomes extremely difficult to maintain biologically diverse ecosystems needed to support the lives of plants, animals and humans.Through the ecological destruction and imbalance caused by desertification, the carbon exchange process is accelerated. Dryland vegetation and soil are crucial stora ge devices for carbon, and contain practically half the centre quantity of carbon (FAO, 2003). at a time these elements thin out or become unproductive due to desertification, carbon is released into the atmosphere. It is estimated that for every hectare of dryland vegetation or soil that is depleted or unusable, 30 tonnes of carbon is no longer stored and is released into the atmosphere (FAO, 2003).This elevation of atmospherical carbon contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Desertification also has major social consequences, disrupting the social fabric and bar of living for many traditional and Native peoples. On a global level, it threatens the stability and health of a development population. In the desertification process land is degraded, making it extremely difficult to maintain a prosperous career and livelihood. Consequently, individuals are forced to relocate to areas with more livable conditions and stronger economic opportunities.This population di splacement is evident in the migration of Mexicans to the United States Some 70 percent of all land in Mexico is vulnerable to desertification, one reason why some 900,000 Mexicans leave habitation each year in search of a better life as migrant workers in the United States (Environment News Service, 2003). However, in the developing countries of Africa and Asia, broken individuals have no option but to become refugees, abandoning their previous livelihoods and simply struggling for survival.United Nations secretarial assistant Kofi Annan stated that in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of environmental refugees refugees due to environmental issues like desertification is expected to opening to 25 million in the next 20 years. (Environment News Service, 2003). These refugee movements and population displacement have often caused political and social unrest, and even wars. As a result of desertification, countries appointment for control of the scarce innate resources, since pre vious deposits are depleted or unusable (UNCCD, 2003). The strong, overconfident coefficient of correlation between desertification and armed conflict is illustrated in Appendix 2.The population displacement, refugee movements and relationship to wars make desertification devastating to the social security of individuals in affected regions. Desertification has caused a crisis in the worlds food supply, creating concern over the sustainability of an increasing population. Dryland areas are home to some of the most important crops and genetic strains of cultivated plants which form the basis of the food and health of the worlds population (FAO, 2003). Some of these products include cereal crops, oil seeds, grain legumes and root crops.In drylands affected by desertification, land that was once agriculturally viable can no longer be used, as it is essentially a wasteland. Even if agriculture is feasible, the nutrient poor soil makes it extremely difficult to grow a large quantity o f a certain crop. This has crippled the food supply, at a time when its sustainability is already in question. According to the United Nations a nutritionally adequate diet for the worlds growing population implies tripling food production over the next 50 years under complimentary conditions.If desertification is not stopped and reversed, food yields in many affected areas will decline (UNCCD, 2003). Thus, desertification creates uncertainty as to the adequacy of the worlds food production, endangering the supportability of a growing population. There is a strong, positive correlation between desertification and serious health concerns and diseases. The increasing rate of desertified areas has created a crisis in the worlds food and water supplies.As a result, food and water are extremely scarce, and malnutrition, starvation and ultimately deficit will result from desertification (UNCCD, 2003). This has prompted concern and anxiety within the World Health Organization stating, we the WHO is becoming increasingly worried with the consequences of desertification, such as malnutrition and famine (WHO Denmark, 2003). Desertification is also indirectly linked to many severe epidemics, notably in Africa. The drying of water sources due to desertification forces people to use heavily polluted water, leading to disastrous health problems.According to the World Health Organization, desertification and droughts can increase water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and diarrhoeal diseases (WHO Denmark, 2003). young research and studies have also suggested that malaria incidences have escalated significantly in desertified areas. The strong, positive correlation between malaria and desertification is render in Appendix 3. Furthermore, soil erosion and land degradation has resulted in the creation of dust storms and poor air quality.This has had a very negative toll on human health and results in mental stress, eye infections, respiratory illnesses and allergies (UNCCD, 2003). Therefore, desertification is strongly associated with dust storms, poor air quality, malnutrition, famine, and epidemics, all of which are enormously high-risk to human health. In an attempt to combat and rehabilitate desertified land, precious economic funds are infallible and exhausted. Consequently, resources are drained, resulting in the weakening of local economies and the compromising of national development goals.As the desertification process continues, economic aid and money is spent on crisis management, not on growth and development. Due to the depletion of natural resources, desertification contributes to decreased income levels and productivity losses. This is specifically true in agricultural regions and severely stunts economic growth. The worldwide cost of desertification, expressed as income foregone amounts to approximately $11 billion for irrigated land, $8 billion for rainfed cropland, and $23 billion for rangeland, for a total c ost of $42 billion (CIESIN, 2003).This value may not seem astronomical for developed countries like Canada, Britain and the United States, but for nations in the developing world, these figures are devastating. According to an unpublished World Bank study, the depletion of natural resources ca apply income loss in one Sahelian country was equivalent to 20% of its Gross Domestic fruit (UNCCD, 2003). Desertification has thence crippled present earnings as well as income potential in the future, nuisance not only individuals but also entire economies.In an effort to improve future conditions, developing countries devote significant amounts of their limited monetary resources to combating and rehabilitating land affected by desertification, severely impeding their economic growth. Land rehabilitation costs are those incurred for stopping further degradation and to restore the land to something come near its original condition. Unfortunately, this requires a significant amount of in vestment that could have been used for economic development, as opposed to just repairing land.On a per hectare basis, it is estimated that a cost of $2,000 is needed to improve irrigated land, $400 for rainfed cropland, and $40 for rangeland (CIESIN, 2003). To people living in the developing world, these costs consume much, if not all of their incomes, obviously crippling their careers and livelihoods. Although thither is the potential to repair and rehabilitate almost all land affected by desertification only 52 per cent (1,860 million hectares) can pay back the cost of rehabilitation (CIESIN, 2003).Thus, many farmers and individuals reclaim land, but because of huge overriding costs, they actually lose money as productivity remains stagnant. Therefore, limited monetary funds are spent towards crisis management, sacrificing national development and economic growth. Desertification is directly linked to the mass destitution occurring in the developing world. Individuals consiste ntly endure an impoverished lifestyle because income potential is foregone, and resources are devoted towards rehabilitation, thusly scarce economic funds are depleted.United Nations Secretary Kofi Anna states Because the poor often farm degraded land, desertification is both a cause and consequence to poverty? Fighting desertification must be an integral part of our wider efforts to eradicate poverty (Environment News Service, 2003). If the desertification process continues to grow exponentially, mass poverty will also increase both in size and in severity. Thus, in order to address poverty, desertification must be contained and controlled. Currently, desertification affects over 250 million people and a third of the earths land surface (4 billion hectares) (UNCCD, 2003).In addition, the livelihoods of over one billion people in over 100 countries are indirectly threatened (UNCCD, 2003), as shown in the map in Appendix 4. It is estimated that in the next 50 years, another billion p eople will fall victim to the wrath of desertification and its related environmental, social, and economic ramifications (CIESIN, 2003). The depletion and contamination of fresh water sources, the reduction in biodiversity, and the acceleration of the carbon cycle make desertification devastating to the sustainability of the environment.Socially, desertification forces people to migrate which may eventually lead to wars or conflicts, creates a major catastrophe for the worlds food supply, and is scientifically correlated to major health concerns, even epidemics such as malaria. The economic status of developing countries impacted by the desertification process is jeopardized as high levels of income are foregone, and resources are devoted towards rehabilitation, not towards growth and development. Furthermore, poverty in African and Asian nations has grown exponentially due to this process, creating humanitarian and economic crises.The worlds future is at stake, and it is imperative that the global community acts now. Desertification is a preventable process, but requires a arrange approach involving effort from the local, national and global communities. Local and national governments must implement methods of soil and water conservation, and utilize traditional agricultural systems that support positive environmental strategies. The industrialized world must supply the economic and technological aid necessary for these conservation techniques (UNCCD, 2003). international Positioning System (GPS) satellite engineering is a modern technique that can be effectively used in combating desertification. GPS satellites can actually pinpoint and locate areas vulnerable or prone to desertification, acting as excellent early ideal signs. This allows governments to implement various techniques and policies to prevent damage done by desertification. As former United States chair Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in a letter to governors on February 26, 1937, a nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself (Dingle, 2003). The battle to combat desertification is a war that can be lost, but must be won.Now is the time to win the fight before this glimmer of hope disappears. Appendix 1 Time-Series Photos of the Aral Sea Source Aral Sea Homepage, 2002 These pictures were taken using LANDSAT TM satellite technology. The reddish shadow represents the vegetation around the Aral Sea. The northern part of the image is the shoreline of the sea. mark how in 1979 the shoreline is quite large, while in 1989 it is non-existent, illustrating the decreasing water levels. What is also striking is the white shade on the satellite photo from 1989. This represents an artificial saltpan, caused by desertification and desiccation.Appendix 2 World Map of fortify Conflicts and Desertification Source CIESIN, 2003 Most of the armed conflicts occurring from 1989-97 are in highly desertified areas. Thus, there is a strong positive correlation between desertification and arme d conflict. Appendix 3 Map of Desertification vulnerability and Malaria Risk in Africa For both maps, red represents the highest severity, followed by orange, yellow, green and lastly white. In desertified areas, much of the population is at risk of malaria, thus there is a strong, positive correlation between desertification and malaria.Appendix 4 World Map of Desertification Vulnerability Source CIESIN, 2003 Works Cited Aral Sea Homepage. Aral Sea Region Kyzylorda Oblast, Kazakhstan. 2002. . CIESIN Center for Earth Science Information Network. Global Desertification Dimensions and Costs. 29 July 2003. . DEWA Divisions of Warning and Assessment, United Nations. Desertification and Drought Identification. 2002. . Dingle, Carol, et al. Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotations. 2003. . Dregne, H. E. , et al. Desertification of Arid Lands. New York Harwood Academic Publishers, 1983.