DESERTIFICATION

CONTENT

• Definition of Desertification or Desert Encroachment
• Geological Areas
• Causes of Desertification
• Effects of Desertification
• Control Measures of Desertification

Definition of Desertification or Desert Encroachment

Desertification is the degradation of land in any dry land. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities. Desertification is a significant global ecological and environmental problem.

It can also be defined as a process of land degradation which occur mainly in arid regions or semi-arid regions where rainfall is unreliable which can be compounded by different human activities that lead to mismanagement of the environment.

Geological Areas

Drylands occupy approximately 40–41% of the earth’s land area and are home to more than 2 billion people. It has been estimated that some 10–20% of drylands are already degraded, the total area affected by desertification being between 6 and 12 million square kilometres, about 1–6% of the inhabitants of drylands live in desertified areas, and that a billion people are under threat from further desertification.

The Sahara is currently expanding at a rate of 48 kilometres per year.