Latest Desertification Stories

Human security is under threat from desertification, land degradation and drought. Combating this threat requires an integrated international response, which is why the theme for this year's World Day to Combat Desertification is "˜Conserving land and water = Securing our common future'. Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) deprive people of food, water and their homes and can undermine security and even trigger conflicts. According to the UN Convention to Combat...

As part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness about the urgent need for action against desertification and land degradation, the UN is calling on all aspiring photographers to participate in its second international photo contest.The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is looking for images that artistically highlight either the efforts of people trying to conserve soil, land or water in drylands or the relationship between people and dryland ecosystems.Drylands cover more than...

An expert warned Friday that Cyprus runs the risk of desertification by the end of this century as it feels the brunt of climate change and drought.Professor Manfred Lange, a geophysicist, said that studies project a rise in summer temperatures on the East Mediterranean Island of between two and four degrees this century, compared to the 1960 and 1990 reference periods."I think that there is a very definite potential for dramatically increasing desertification," said Lange, director...

A three-year nationwide survey has found that over a third of China's land is being scoured by serious erosion that is putting its crops and water supply at risk.The country's bio-environment security research team said soil is being washed and blown away not only in remote rural areas, but near mines, factories and even cities.Every year, 4.5 billion tons of soil are lost, which threatens the country's ability to feed itself.Harvest in China's northeastern breadbasket could fall 40 percent...

A new United Nations report released Tuesday says ecotourism, solar energy, and even fish farms can create new jobs in arid regions of developing nations suffering from scarce supplies of water.Data from the U.N. shows that drylands now cover 40 percent of the global land area, and are home to nearly a third of the world's population, 90 percent of whom live in developing countries.  The U.N.'s Climate Panel predicts that global warming will strain water supplies and cause deserts to...

China finds 14,000-km underground rivers in rock desert areas BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A newly conducted geological survey has found more than 3,000 underground rivers with a total length of 14,000 kilometers in southwest China's rock desert areas. A latest report released by the China Geological Survey showed that these underground rivers collect water from a combined area of 300,000 square kilometers, with an annual runoff of 47 billion cubic meters, equivalent to that of the Yellow...

By Anonymous EXPERTS AGREE THAT an estimated 35 % of land that was cultivatable 50 years ago is now desert in 11 of Nigeria's northern states, but what they are not so sure about is why. 'These are indications of global warming which the world must grapple with/ lgiri West, a Kano-based environmentalist, told IRIN. The level of industrial and vehicular emissions [in industrialised countries] is so high that they are capable of drastically affecting the climate [in northern Nigeria].' But...

China Exclusive: Massive program aims to hold back the deserts YINCHUAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China has started a massive ecological program in its arid northwest to prevent the desertification of Beijing and other areas. The five-year program calls for planting 400,000 hectares of commercial forests around the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region at an annual cost of 1.3 billion yuan (about 188 million U.S. dollars) from central and local government budgets, according to Wang Delin, chief of the...

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Desertification represents one of the "greatest environmental challenge of our times" and could set off mass migrations of people fleeing degraded homelands, a United Nations report warned Thursday.The report called on governments in arid regions to revise rules on land use to halt overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices. It also urged better coordinated policies to address the problem of desertification."It is imperative that effective policies...

Deforestation causes concern in Zimbabwe HARARE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The destruction of forests in Zimbabwe is accelerating desertification, an official has said. The Environment Education and Publicity Manager for the Environmental Management Agency Philip Manyaza was quoted by ZBC News on Wednesday as saying that while efforts have been made to educate the public on the importance of indigenous trees the country continues to lose forest areas as people are cutting down trees...