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  • Writer's pictureNezrin Abbasova
    • Jun 18
    • 2 min read

Unity for the land. Our Land. Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration


"Our survival depends on the soil. But we treat it like mud."


UN Secretary General Anton Guterres



Desertification is one of the biggest environmental problems of our time

Up to 40% of all land resources in the world are already considered degraded. Healthy soil not only provides us with 95% of our food, but much more: it feeds, clothes and shelters us, protects us from worsening droughts, floods and wildfires, sustains our economy, lives and livelihoods.

Desertification is "a variety of impacts in semi-arid and arid regions, plus climate change and land degradation by human activity." 

Land degradation in drylands is defined as the elimination or loss of biological or economic productivity of drylands. One of the consequences of desertification, which is difficult to compensate for, is that it takes an average of 70-150 years to restore a soil condition of 1 smbit in the arid zone alone.


Forests play an important role in ecosystems and life on the planet

One of their main functions is to prevent desertification by holding the soil in place with its roots and protecting it from erosion.

  • An estimated 1.6 billion people, including 70 million indigenous peoples, use forests for their livelihoods;

  • Forests are home to more than 80 percent of terrestrial animal, plant and insect species;

  • From 2010 to 2015, approximately 3.3 million hectares of forest were lost. This affects the lives of rural women who depend on resources.


The main reasons include:

• loss of most vegetation;

• drought;

• climate change;

• overgrazing;

• deforestation;

• overpopulation;

• intensive farming;

 

The main consequences of desertification include:

• reduction in the diversity of species and number of animals;

• reduction in food production, reduction in soil fertility and the natural ability of the land to recover;

• increased floods in the lower reaches of rivers, deterioration of water quality, sedimentation in rivers and lakes, siltation of reservoirs and shipping canals;

• deterioration of human health due to wind-blown dust, including eye, respiratory and allergic diseases and psychological stress;

• disruption of the usual way of life of the affected population, forced to migrate to other areas;

• poverty.


Measures to combat desertification

  1. "Green Wall of China" - a project designed to prevent the expansion of deserts in the People's Republic of China;

  2. "Great Green Wall" is a project of the African Union to combat desertification in the Sahara desert. The essence of the project is to create a forested vegetation belt that can contain the Sahara expansion;

  3. Reforestation;

  4. Land reclamation;

  5. Reclamation of the desert;

  6. Cattle grazing management etc.


Digging "Zai" pits in Niger


In Burkina Faso, farmer Yacouba Sawadogo's network has successfully combated desertification using African agronomy. He revolutionized Zai's attempt at energy cultivation, which allows crops to grow in pits that collect water after very heavy rains, even in water-scarce regions.


More detailed information on desertification opportunities and drought mitigation measures will be provided in the post.





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