Desertification is a phenomenon that ranks among the greatest environmental challenges of our time, unfortunately most people haven't heard of it or simply don't understand it.
Desertification and land degradation is a global issue with desertification already affecting one quarter of the total land surface of the globe today.
Today the pace of arable land degradation is estimated at 30 to
35 times the historical rate. Land degradation is costing US$490
billion per annum and desertification is degrading more than 12m
hectares of arable land every year - the equivalent of losing
the total arable area of France every 18 months.
One third of the earth's surface is covered with grasslands that
are facing the threat of desertification. According to a study
by the United Nations, 20 percent of our farmland, 30 percent of
our forest and 10 percent of world's grassland are degrading
worldwide. Over the past four decades, 15 percent of the Earth's
land area - an area larger than the United States and Mexico
combined - have been degraded through human activities.
Severe land degradation is now affecting 168 countries across
the world, up from just a 110 a few short years ago.
Desertification doesn't refer to the advance of deserts which
can and do expand naturally. Desertification is a different
process where land in arid or semi-dry areas becomes degraded -
the soil loses its productivity and the cover vegetation
disappears or is degraded to the point where wind and water
erosion can carry away the topsoil leaving behind a highly
infertile mix of dust and sand.
Land degradation, and the eventual resulting desertification of
dry land ecosystems is most often caused by human activities
such as:
Unsustainable farming - intensive farming depletes the nutrients
in the soil
Overgrazing - animals eat away grasses and erode topsoil with
their hooves
Deforestation or clear-cutting of land - the tree and plant
cover that binds the soil is removed
Misuse of water resources
Industrial activities
Climate change can accelerate and intensify the degradation
process.
The issue of desertification is not new, it has constantly
played a significant role in human history, even contributing to
the collapse of the world's earliest known empire, the Akkadians
of Mesopotamia.
One of the most basic, fundamental problems (other than the
rapid depletion of our fresh water resources) we've created for
ourselves is the impact of human activities on the land we need
to cultivate for our very survival.
"The top 20cm of soil is all that stands between us and
extinction." Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the UNCCD
It takes 100 years to generate a single millimeter of topsoil -
24 billion tons of fertile soil disappear annually.
Conclusion
We obviously reached peak soil a long time ago, soil can be
considered a non-renewable and rapidly depleting resource.
Given fears over the world's present ability to feed our current
population - expected to pass the nine billion mark by 2050 -
it's surprising desertification and land degradation is so
absent on most people's radar screens.
According to the UN, global demand for food is projected to
increase by 50 percent by 2030. It is projected there will be
nine billion people to feed by 2050,
It's obvious the world needs a new farm - one the size of South
Africa.
Unfortunately the UN also says that by 2030 an area twice the
size of South Africa will become unproductive due to
desertification, land degradation and drought.
Adding to our troubles is production gains from the Green
Revolution are diminishing. Is the security of your food supply
on your radar screen?
All this can be changed if human beings start eating the
healthiest foods for them. That is to avoid taking milk, dairy
foods, meat, fish and eggs and live on plant foods. The Nimal
diet which helps to prevent 95% of cancers, 98% of heart disease
and degenerative brain disease. Our greed for animal food not
only kills us early it is also killing our precious planet. Our
civilization is at risk of extinction unless we educate our
children about the truth regarding our health.