Does Desertification Affect Us?
We all know what deserts are, but do you know their importance for our natural habitat? Deserts are ecologically vital because several animals live in it, and it is a significant source of sand.
Also, oil, which you know is the most profitable industry worldwide, is mainly found under deserts. However, nowadays, deserts are not naturally found. They are mostly human-made. Now you may think how! Well, it is the aftereffect of the worst type of land degradation - Desertification.
So what is desertification?
Desertification is one of the most significant environmental challenges we are facing currently and climate change. It is mainly caused due to human activities and climate variations, and aggressive agricultural activities are mostly drained beyond the capacity.
In 1994, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established and stated that “desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.”
According to reports by UNESCO, almost one-third of the planet’s land surface is threatened by desertification, thus affecting millions of people who mainly depend on the benefits which drylands provide.
What are the causes of desertification?
Deforestation: One of the most crucial problems which lead to desertification is cutting down trees. That’s because, without trees, the habitat cannot survive.
Farming Practices: Over the years, humans have been dependent on farming, but sometimes it strips off the nutrients from the soil. Thus, it is always suggested to move from one plot to another to retain the land from getting barren.
Climate Change: Climate change also plays an essential role when it comes to desertification. Currently, the days are getting warmer, resulting in more frequent droughts. Hence, leading to several areas becoming inhabitable over a period of time.
Several other reasons like natural droughts and overpopulation are also leading to widespread drought. If lands continue to go barren and lose their nutrients, it will lead to sandstorms and less vegetative areas.
As per research, desertification to some extend is hard to detect, but it will be hard to regain all the vegetation if things go out of hand. Thus, it is essential to preserve what we have and continue to retrieve all the win over the drylands by planting more trees.
As said by Leonard I. Sweet, "The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create."
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