LAND DEGRADATION and desertification are some of the greatest environmental challenges for the world in light of climate change, rapidly growing population and increasing demand for food, fiber and biomass energy. As the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says, land “provides the principal basis for human livelihoods and well-being, including the supply of food, fresh water, and multiple other ecosystem services, as well as biodiversity.” But the problem of land degradation and desertification is acute in Asia and Africa. Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 15.3, a land degradation-neutral world by 2030 would not only depend upon the success of Africa and Asia to combat it, but the overall success would be critically determined by the success in achieving them in the two continents. UN agencies and the scientific community have been in a continuous discourse on identifying and generating empirical and scientific methods for monitoring, assessing and reporting the progress on land degradation and desertification.
In Asian countries, the degraded areas mainly include the deserts of China mainland, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan; the sand dunes of Central Asia; the steeply eroded mountain slopes of Nepal; and the deforested and overgrazed high-lands of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Asia holds almost 60 percent of the world’s population. Of this, nearly 70 percent live in rural areas and depend directly on land and land-based ecosystem services. As a result, Asia is most severely affected by land degradation, desertification, and drought in terms of the number of people.
Esta historia es de la edición September 01, 2019 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 01, 2019 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara