Desertification

Karan Kumar
The Bhawanipur Education Society College
Calcutta University Roll No: 3017-61-0007
Calcutta University Registration No: 017-1121-1977-12

CONTENTS

1.0

Introduction

2.0

Objective

3.0

Areas of study
Desertification in the World
Desertification in India
Study Area

3.1)
3.2)
3.3)
4.0

Methodology

5.0

Causes of Desertification

6.0

Environmental Impact
Impact of Desertification on Nature
Impact of Desertification on Humans

6.1)
6.2)
7.0

Observation

8.0

Conclusion
Bibliography

1.0)

INTRODUCTION

Desertification is the process that leads to aridity, initially because rainfall decreases, but
additionally because the environment is so much degraded that plants can no more
develop properly. In the first sense desertification leads to desert conditions and is
geographically confined to regions with low rainfall or where the rainfall has significantly

decreased in the course of time; in a broader context it is associated with land degradation
in general and in this case it is not necessarily a feature of the arid zone.
The broadening of the climate concept of desertification, its linage with land degradation
and with the human impact of the process, has led to great confusion. This has been
enhanced by the UN convention to Combat Desertification where desertification was
taken as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from
various factors, including climatic variations and human activities where land means the
terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil, vegetation, other biota, and the
ecological and hydrological processes that operate within the system. The result of this
confusion is that some authors have given an over-emphasis to man-made land
degradation, describing desertification even in high-rainfall areas of northern Europe
A great deal of the confusion or deliberate obfuscation about desertification reflects a
poorly defined or incorrect use of terms, a failure to identify the various combination of
processes at different time and space scales and ignorance or lack of data, and this
confusion may even be politically, economically, socially and scientifically motivated.
Since the word desertification has been picked up by the mass media, its public
perception has been rather variable. Some people have used the word to mean the depopulation of marginal rural areas due to migration and land abandonment (which is
indeed part of the problem), other, and especially the news media, tend to be
sensationalist, sometimes giving the idea that land is becoming irreversibly unproductive,
and that the Sahara desert is going to invade the Mediterranean.
In this project desertification is understood as the process of degradation of the
environment, being the result of either natural conditions (decrease or extreme variability
of rainfall) or of adverse human interventions, but leading always to a critical shortage of
water for the vegetation. This means that the terms is climate-linked and is geographically
restricted to arid and semi-arid areas and their immediate fringes. Obviously,
desertification is most prominent in semi-arid regions and on the edge with dry subhumid areas where a further degradation of marginal natural conditions can become
critical for the survival of flora and fauna.

Figure 1: Dryland systems in the world

Source: http://a.static.trunity.net/files/231201_231300/231218/overlap-of-urban-areaswith-the-four-dryland-categories.gif

2.0)

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is a) to enquire about the causes 2) to analyze the effects of
desertification statistically and 3) to suggest some measures to prevent and reverse the
global problem of desertification.

3.0)

Area of Study
3.1)

Desertification in the World

Desertification is a major problem across the world, most notable in dryland

areas (including large areas in Africa, such as the Sahel. About 40% of Earths
land is covered by drylands, and theses areas are home to over 2 billion
people.
Drylands are highly vulnerable to natural and human destruction, due to the
low water content of the soil (UNCCD, 2014). However, it is important to
remember that land degradation can affect all regions drought and
desertification is not always synonymous with dryland areas. About one third
of all global agricultural land is either highly or moderately degraded.
Australia was the first country to establish a national drought policy, and
though other countries (Kiribati and Morocco) have made the first steps
toward this, it remains one of the only countries to have a comprehensive
drought management strategy.
Figure 2: Desertification Vulnerability

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Table 1: Statewise Statistics of the process of land degradation/ desertification.

Figure 3: AWiFS image showing salinity, wind-erosion, water erosion, vegetal degradation in
hot arid regions of Karnataka (a), Madhya Pradesh (c,d) and Rajasthan (b).

Source: http://www.moef.nic.in/

This map (Figure 2) from the Natural Resource Conservation Service shows
global desertification vulnerability. This map is based on a reclassification of
the global soil climate map and global soil map (soil type is closely linked to
climate, and so varies across the globe in response to the local environmental
conditions).

3.2)

Desertification in India

India occupies only 2.4% of the worlds geographical area, yet supports about
16.7% of the worlds human population; it has only 0.5% of the worlds
grazing land but supports 18% of the worlds cattle population. Thus there is
tremendous pressure on our land-based natural resources. India is endowed
with a variety of soils, climate, biodiversity and ecological regions. About 50.8
mha land area (15.8% of the countrys geographical area) is arid, 123.4 mha
(37.6%) is semi-arid and 54.1 mha (16.5%) area falls in the dry sub-humid
region. All put together, about 228 mha area, i.e. 69% of the geographic area
of the country is dry land (arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid). Appropriate
action plan for arresting land degradation and desertification requires
information on the area and the spatial distribution of the land undergoing
different processes of degradation. Though the status of land degradation and
desertification in the country has been assessed by several organizations,
providing varied figures, the systematic spatial inventory, based on scientific
method, has not been done so far. Thus, there has been a long pending need for
desertification/land degradation status mapping of the entire country based on
scientific methods.

Figure 4: Percentage of desertified area in Rajasthan by Cause

Source: http://www.moef.nic.in/

3.3)

Study Area: Rajasthan

Rajasthan is in northwest India and is bounded in north by Punjab, northeast

by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, east by Madhya Pradesh, south by Gujarat and
west by Pakistan. The state has three distinct Physiographic regions viz. the
great Thar Desert, the hill regions of Aravallis and the eastern fertile plain.
Chambal is the perennial river flowing in Rajasthan. Since the area of Madhya
Pradesh was reduced by the creation of Chattisgarh in 2000, Rajasthan has
become the largest Indian state in size, with an area of 34,22,3900 ha. In
Rajasthan 67 per cent of area is affected due to desertification/land
degradation the most significant process of desertification/land degradation in
this state is wind erosion (44.42 per cent), followed by water erosion (11.22
per cent), vegetal degradation (6.25 per cent) and salinization (1.07 per cent).

Figure 5: Causes of desertification in the world

Source: http://www.mindfully.org/

4.0)

METHOD OF STUDY

The present study follows a few methodical steps to attain the final shape. The steps
are as follows: a) to go through some informative websites on desertification, b) to
apply statistical diagrams for graphical presentation, c) to analyze the cause and effect
and d) to suggest some effective remedial measures in order to minimize the problem
of desertification accentuated through decades around the present world.

5.0)

Causes of Desertification

There are several factors that contribute to Desertification. Some are natural causes
(intense rainfall events, droughts), others are directly related to human activities
(agriculture, industry, among others).
In reality, the conjunction of these factors has had a very big negative impact on the
natural resources (soil, water and vegetation).
Figure 5: Causes of desertification in the world

Source: http://www.env.go.jp/en/

Agricultural activities, because they are based on the use of soil, contribute decisively
to Desertification. Therefore, a series of practices and actions, which are bad and
degrade the soils and the environment, can be identified.

Pastures
Overgrazing-Excessive use of the same pastures;
Excessive density of animals per area;
Use of pastures not adapted to the soils and climate conditions;
Compaction of the soil surface by cattle;
Appearance of a trail net, which favours the action of runoff water.

Figure 6: Overgrazing

Source: sgp.undp.org

Arable Land
Removal of the vegetation cover (cur, stubble burn);
Incorrect agricultural practices, like ploughing too deeply, successively
and along the sloped, among others;
Loss of organic matter in the soil, through soil wash by rainfall water;
Destruction of the soil structure, with incorrect works (ploughing and
other);

Compaction- use of heavy machinery;

Stored nutrient removal (fallow) monocultures (e.g. wheat,
vineyards, among others), species inadequate to the siol and climate
conditions (e.g. sunflower);
Pollution contamination by toxic residues and chemical products
(fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides).

Figure 7: Desertification due to agriculture

Source: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Irrigated Areas
Incorrect agricultural practices, like excessive use of water and
consequent erosion;
Salinization- formation of salt layers on the surface of the soil, due to
the use for irrigation of groundwater with high contents of salt;
Worrying decrease on the quantity of available underground water;
Loss of soil fertility by continuous use depletion.

Forest
Deforestation;
Use of fast growing exotic species, like the eucalyptus;
Fires

Figure 8: Deforestation

Source: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Other Activities
Surface sealing infrastructure and urbanization;
Excessive water consumption in tourist areas (e.g. Algarve).

All these activities lead and intensify the soil erosion processes by action of the
rainfall water. When rain drops hit the unprotected and disaggregated soil, they
fragment the soil aggregates into particles, which are afterwards easily transported by
surface run off water.
For that reason, it is common to see the rivers with clayish colour, mainly during
Autumn (time of ploughing and seeding), or in other times of the year, when the
occurrence of severe rainfall events coincides with agricultural labour on the soil (like
during Spring when fields are ploughed).

Figure 9a: Soil erosion by water

Source: http://indianapublicmedia.org/
Figure 9b: Soil erosion by wind

Source: http://www.soilerosion.yolasite.com

6.0)

Environmental Impact

6.1)

Impact of Desertification on Nature

o Soil Erosion
The soil covering the surface of the earth has taken millions of years to
form and we must learn to respect it. Soil is formed at a rate of only 1 cm
every 100 to 400 years and it takes 3 000 to 12 000 years to build enough
soil to form productive land. This means that soil is a non-renewable
resource and once destroyed it is gone forever. If we disregard this, a time
will come when there would not be enough soil left to sustain life on earth,
because the soil is a necessary growth medium for plants, a home for
certain insects and animals, as well as a medium from which we get
minerals, such as gold. It is important therefore to treat soil, especially
topsoil, as a living entity
When erosion occurs, the amount of water runoff increases, so that less
water enters the soil matrix and becomes available for the crop. In addition
to creating water shortages, soil erosion causes deficiency in the basic
nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, which are
essential for crop production. A ton of fertile agricultural topsoil typically
contains 1 to 6 kg of nitrogen, 1 to 3 kg of phosphorus, and 2 to 30 kg of
potassium, whereas a severely eroded soil may have nitrogen levels of
only 0.1 to 0.5 kg per ton.

o Water scarcity
Land degradation in the drylands can have direct consequences on the
water
cycle.
If there is low rainfall then drought ensues: groundwater reserves do not
refill, water sources become depleted, wells run dry, plants and animals die
and humans have to migrate to more hospitable regions.
On the other hand, during periods of high rainfall, the ensuing floods kill
people and animals, notably in regions where vegetation cover is reduced
or
totally
destroyed.
The torrential rain flow causes a substantial loss of soil, which is then
flushed out by the rains, and when the land becomes dry again, a hard crust
forms on the surface that renders it impermeable, reducing water
infiltration.

Figure 10: Threat of extinction

Source: http://wefirstbranding.com/
Figure 11: Loss in agricultural productivity

Source: http://www.fbnstatic.com/

o Loss of biodiversity

Land degradation due to drought, salinity or over-exploitation has

immediate consequences on the capacity of vegetation to maintain or
reconstruct itself. Animal species, dependant on this vegetation, have to
migrate to other areas to find sufficient resources or they risk disappearing
altogether. The importance of this loss derives from the fact that animal
and plant species from the drylands are particularly well adapted to this
extreme environment. They act as indicators of the environmental
condition of these areas and their disappearance is a sign of
significant habitat degradation. Moreover, these species remain important
resources for the population. Their disappearance increases food insecurity
and the impoverishment of the worlds most fragile populations.
Losses in biodiversity in rainforests cause significant changes in
ecosystem functioning. About ecosystem functioning in tropical rain
forests we know very little, but we do know that ecosystems are affected
by changes in the number and kinds of species which they contain, an idea
originally conceived by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Intact
ecosystems function best, since the organisms composing them are
specialized to function in that ecosystem to capture, transfer, utilize and,
ultimately, lose both energy and nutrients. The particular species making
up an ecosystem determine its productivity, they affect nutrient cycles and
soil contents, and they influence environmental conditions such as water
cycles, weather patterns, climate and other no-biotic aspects.

6.2)

Impact on Humans
o Loss in Agricultural Productivity.
Because of erosion-associated loss of productivity and population growth,
the per capita food supply is reduced. Crop yields on severely eroded soil
are lower than those on protected soils because erosion reduces soil
fertility and water availability. Corn yields on some severely eroded soils
have been reduced by almost 25 to 65%. Erosion by water and wind
adversely affects soil quality and productivity by reducing infiltration
rates, water-holding capacity, nutrients, organic matter, soil biota and soil
depth. All crops

Figure 12: Impact of malnutrition

Source: jeffreysterlingmd.files.wordpress.com

require enormous quantities of water for their growth and the production
of fruits. For example, during a single growing season, a hectare of corn
(yield, 7000 kh/ha) transpires about 4X10^6 litres of water, and an
additional 2X10^6 litres/ha concurrently evaporate from the soil.

o Higher threats of malnutrition from reduced food and water supplies

Rising food prices, malnutrition due to lack of nutrient rich soil as well as
drought are all a result of the meat industrys need for cheap fodder to feed
livestock animals.
The WHO pointed out that the lack of water in these regions forces people
to drink from un-clean water sources thus causing outbreaks of various
diseases including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and gastro-enteric diseases.
The lack of resources also causes regional instability and conflict when
people start competing for scarce food and water.
o Respiratory diseases caused by atmospheric dust from wind erosion
and other air pollutants.
Desertification can affect peoples health even if they are living in an
entirely different continent. A UN report, the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, which relied on 1,300 experts from 95 countries, stated that
an increase in desertification-related dust storms is widely considered to
be a cause of ill-health (fever, coughing, sore eyes) during the dry season.
Dust emanating from the Gobi desert and the Saharah also been implicated
in respiratory problems as far away as North America and has affected
coral reefs in the Caribbean. Evidence also shows that that the dust
storms originating from the Gobi desert also affect the air quality and lung
health in China, Korea and Japan.
o The spread of infectious diseases as populations migrate.

Figure 13: World view of desertification

Source: ih-igcse-geography.wikispaces.com
Figure 13: Extent of dryland desertification by region

Source: www.fao.org

7.0)

Observations

Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification and one billion people
in over 100 countries are at risk. Fighting desertification is essential to ensuring the
long-term productivity of inhabited drylands. Unfortunately, past efforts to combat to
the ever-increasing problem have often failed, as a result of which the land
degradation problem continues to worsen. This is because the causes of desertification
are many and complicated, ranging from international trade patterns to the
unsustainable land management practices of local communities. Recognizing the need
for a fresh approach, more than 100 governments have signed the UNCCD, which
aims at promoting effective action through innovative programmes and supportive
international partnerships. Countries affected will implement the Convention by
developing and carrying out national, sub-regional and regional programmes.
Decisive factors for preparing such programmes are detailed in the conventions four
regional implementation annexes for Africa (considered a priority because that is
where desertification is most severe), Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the
northern Mediterranean. The Convention opens an important new phase in the battle
against desertification, but it is only a beginning. In particular, governments will need
to review their national action programmes (NAPs) on a regular basis and to focus on
awareness-raising, education and training, in both developing and developed
countries. Desertification can only be reversed through profound changes in local and
international behaviour. Step by step, these changes will ultimately lead to sustainable
land use and food security for a growing world population. Combating desertification,
then, is really just part of a much broader objective: the sustainable development of
countries affected by drought and desertification.
One quarter of the earths surface is threatened by desertification an area of
over 3.6 billion hectares.
Since 1990, 6 million hectares of productive land are lost every year due to
land degradation.
The worlds drinking water supplies have fallen by almost two thirds since
1950.
Every year, 12 million people die as a result of water shortages or
contaminated drinking water.
Desertification threatens the livelihoods of one billion people and has already
made 135 million people homeless.
Every year, desertification generates income losses totalling USD 42 billion.
One of the basic premises of the UNCCD is that land degradation is both a
cause and a consequence of rural poverty. Therefore, desertification makes for
poverty, and poverty makes for further desertification.
In the Sahel Desert, desertification is becoming a huge problem. Around the
1950s, people settled into the Sahel region, in areas where there was water.
This resulted in overgrazing, which is one of the greatest causes of

desertification. Eventually, the perennial shrubs were destroyed because of

grazing, and they were replaced by annuals. Then, the annuals were grazed out
which left bare soil. A lot of the topsoil was washed away, and all that was left
were rocks. Silt turned hard when it was hit by rain. Therefore, plants were not
able to grow because there roots could not penetrate this hard layer. Now this
region has turned to desert and it continues to expand. Records show that

rainfall in Sahel has decreased and sands have shifted about sixty miles south
into the area. Sahel is expanding due to lack of vegetation in the area. Another
reason desertification is occurring in the Sahel region is because people are
using the slashing and burning method to clear land. This degrades the quality
of soil just like overgrazing.

8.0)

Conclusion

Remedial Measures
The remedial measures for Desertification can be classified into two parts, preventive
and reversal. The first deals with prevention of future instances of desertification by
altering current practices that lead to it. The latter, i.e. reversal, refers to steps that can
be taken to reduce the impact of current desertified regions by rehabilitation and
restoration.
Prevention:

Preventing Soil Erosion in Agriculture

o The use of contour ploughing and windbreaks
o Leave unploughed grass strips between ploughed lands (strip cropping)
o Make sure that there are always plants growing on the soil, and that
the soil is rich in humus
o Avoid overgrazing
o Allow indigenous plants to grow along riverbanks
o Conserve wetlands
o Cultivate land, using a crop rotation system
o Minimum or no tillage
o Encourage water infiltration and reduce water runoff.

Preventing Deforestation
o Corporations and Markets: Integrating land and water management to
protect soils from erosion, salinization, and other forms of degradation.

o Sustainable Consumer Options: As a consumer, you have the power to

put pressure on companies that have bad environmental practices. By
buying recycled or certified wood products, only supporting brands
with zero deforestation policies, and getting others to do the same you
send a message to companies to embrace zero deforestation policies.
o Politics: In order to achieve zero deforestation by 2020 we need
ambitious and science-based domestic and international forest policies
from our governments.

Integrating land and water management to protect soils from erosion,

salinization, and other forms of degradation.

Desertification can also be avoided by creating economic opportunities in

drylands urban centers and areas outside drylands. Changes in overall
economic and institutional settings that create new opportunities for people to
earn a living could help relieve current pressures underlying the desertification
processes. Urban growth, when undertaken with adequate planning and
provision of services, infrastructure, and facilities, can be a major factor in
relieving pressures that cause desertification in drylands.

Remedial:
Rehabilitation and restoration approaches can help restore ecosystem
services that have been lost due to desertification. Restoration aims to reestablish a previous ecosystem state and all its functions and services, while
rehabilitation seeks to repair specific parts of the systems, in order to regain
ecosystem productivity.
Effective restoration and rehabilitation of desertified drylands require a
combination of policies and technologies and the close involvement of
local communities.
Examples of actions to restore and rehabilitate ecosystems include:
o establishing seed banks,
o reintroducing selected species,
o countering erosion through terracing and other measures,
o enriching the soil with nutrients, and
o planting trees.
Policies that create incentives for rehabilitation include capacity building,
capital investment, and supportive institutions.
The success of rehabilitation practices depends on the availability of human
resources, sufficient funds and infrastructures, as well as on the degree of
dependence on external technologies and cultural perceptions. Adequate

access to these resources can lead to successful rehabilitation of

some ecosystem services and also help reduce poverty. When these conditions
are not met, efforts to rehabilitate fail.
Restoring degraded dryland services may thus be difficult even with major
policy and technology interventions.

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desertificationb.tripod.com/
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