'Don't desert drylands': they will take care of you.

• Author: Kasotia, Paritosh

THE UNITED NATIONS HAS DECLARED 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, in order to raise public awareness and to protect biological diversity, including the knowledge and traditions of communities affected by desertification. It also aims to provide a platform to strengthen and empower people to become active agents of environmental stewardship, and to work in collaboration as partners towards a common objective.

Desertification affects millions around the globe. About 30 per cent of the world's terrestrial surfaces are drylands that serve as a home to 900 million people. The most common causes of this critical environmental problem are inefficient land use and agricultural practices, high population density and changes in land patterns. According to the Desertification, Drought, Poverty and Agriculture Research Consortium, the other root causes are: drought, which depletes the earth's vegetative cover; climate change or shift, resulting in increased temperature in certain regions; population growth that creates deterioration of land due to increased productivity; poverty, which affects land quality, since the population is more likely to over-utilize available resources; institutional shortcomings, especially the lack of policies on land sustainability, resulting in land degradation; inadequate infrastructure and limited market access, which can prevent regions from producing more efficiently; ecologically unsound technology that leads to unsustainable and inefficient agricultural practices; and limited research and knowledge on development and conservation of natural resources. Loss of biodiversity also affects people's livelihood, as agricultural productivity is ultimately decreased due to the disruption of the food chain.

The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification states that desertification causes an estimated loss of $42 billion a year in agricultural production, contributes to food insecurity, famine and poverty, and can lead to social, economic and political tensions with dire consequences, such as political instability, population displacement and armed conflicts between neighbouring countries. Desertification has taken the biggest toll in Africa, where estimates show that approximately 34 per cent of the surface areas are under threat. This includes Mediterranean Africa and the Sudano-Sahelian region, where the problem was mainly caused by poorly managed agricultural activities. As the...