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Desertification
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introduction
Desertification threatens nearly one quarter of the land surface of the globe. The environmental impacts of desertification include a reduction in crop yields, a loss of plants and a deterioration in the quality of plant foodstuffs available to humans and animals. (The Guardian newspaper, Desertification special report, The Arid Expansion) - Desertification is the degradation of drylands. It involves the loss of biological or economic productivity and complexity in croplands, pastures, and woodlands. It is due mainly to climate variability and unsustainable human activities. Seventy percent of the world's drylands are degraded. Desertification is considered a major global environmental issue largely because of the link between dryland degradation and food production. If desertification is not stopped and reversed, food yields in many affected areas will decline. Malnutrition, starvation, and ultimately famine may result. (United Nations Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification )
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