Content deleted Content added
Filled in 2 bare reference(s) with reFill 2 |
deadurl fixes |
||
Line 100:
At least 90% of the inhabitants of drylands live in [[Developing country|developing countries]], where they also suffer from poor economic and social conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2010–2020: UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification |url=https://www.un.org/en/events/desertification_decade/index.shtml |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.un.org |language=EN}}</ref> This situation is exacerbated by land degradation because of the reduction in productivity, the precariousness of living conditions and the difficulty of access to resources and opportunities.<ref>[https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/The%20Global%20Drylands%20Initiative,%202001-09%20-%20Challenge%20Paper-%20Poverty%20and%20the%20Drylands.pdf Poverty and the Drylands] undp.org</ref>
Many underdeveloped countries are affected by overgrazing, [[land exhaustion]] and [[overdrafting]] of groundwater due to pressures to exploit marginal drylands for farming. Decision-makers are understandably averse to invest in arid zones with low potential. This absence of investment contributes to the marginalization of these zones. When unfavorable agri-climatic conditions are combined with an absence of infrastructure and access to markets, as well as poorly adapted production techniques and an underfed and undereducated population, most such zones are excluded from development.<ref name="csf-desertification.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.csf-desertification.org/index.php/bibliotheque/doc_details/119-cornet-antoine-2002-desertification-and-its-relationship-to-the-environment-and-development|
Desertification often causes rural lands to become unable to support the same sized populations that previously lived there. This results in mass [[human migration|migrations]] out of rural areas and into urban areas particularly in Africa creating unemployment and [[slum]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pasternak, Dov|author2=Schlissel, Arnold|title=Combating desertification with plants|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=978-0-306-46632-8|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-i8-DPf6xgC&pg=PA20|access-date=2016-05-16|archive-date=2023-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730161050/https://books.google.com/books?id=B-i8-DPf6xgC&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Briassoulis, Helen|title=Policy integration for complex environmental problems: the example of Mediterranean desertification|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7546-4243-5|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpYnV45hVRsC&pg=PA161|access-date=2016-05-16|archive-date=2023-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730161052/https://books.google.com/books?id=CpYnV45hVRsC&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of these [[Environmental migrant|environmental refugees]] grows every year, with projections for sub-Saharan Africa showing a probable increase from 14 million in 2010 to nearly 200 million by 2050. This presents a future crisis for the region, as neighboring nations do not always have the ability to support large populations of refugees.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Myers |first1=Norman |date=29 April 2002 |title=Environmental refugees: a growing phenomenon of the 21st century |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |volume=357 |issue=1420 |pages=609–613 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0953 |pmc=1692964 |pmid=12028796}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Epule |first1=Terence Epule |last2=Peng |first2=Changhui |last3=Lepage |first3=Laurent |date=5 February 2014 |title=Environmental refugees in sub-Saharan Africa: a review of perspectives on the trends, causes, challenges and way forward |journal=GeoJournal |volume=80 |pages=79–92 |doi=10.1007/s10708-014-9528-z |s2cid=154503204}}</ref>
Line 119:
One proposed barrier is that the costs of adopting [[sustainable agriculture|sustainable agricultural practices]] sometimes exceed the benefits for individual farmers, even while they are socially and environmentally beneficial.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Drost|first1=Daniel|last2=Long|first2=Gilbert|last3=Wilson|first3=David|last4=Miller|first4=Bruce|last5=Campbell|first5=William|title=Barriers to Adopting Sustainable Agricultural Practices|issue=6|url=https://www.joe.org/joe/1996december/a1.php|journal=Journal of Extension|volume=34|date=1 December 1996|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222053123/https://www.joe.org/joe/1996december/a1.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Another issue is a lack of political will, and lack of funding to support [[land reclamation]] and anti-desertification programs.<ref>{{cite book|author=Briassoulis, Helen|title=Policy integration for complex environmental problems: the example of Mediterranean desertification|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7546-4243-5|page=237|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpYnV45hVRsC&pg=PA237}}</ref>
Desertification is recognized as a major threat to [[biodiversity]]. Some countries have developed [[biodiversity action plan]]s to counter its effects, particularly in relation to the protection of endangered [[flora]] and [[fauna]].<ref>Techniques for Desert Reclamation by Andrew S. Goudie</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gsafweb.org/TrusteeNews/desertdevelopmen.html|
=== Reforestation ===
{{Main|Reforestation}}
[[Reforestation]] gets at one of the root causes of desertification and is not just a treatment of the symptoms. Environmental organizations work in places where deforestation and desertification are contributing to extreme [[poverty]]. There they focus primarily on educating the local population about the dangers of deforestation and sometimes employ them to grow seedlings, which they transfer to severely deforested areas during the rainy season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/desertification/|title=Desertification|website=USGS|date=1997|access-date=2006-06-10|archive-date=2010-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802200740/http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/desertification/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]] launched the FAO Drylands Restoration Initiative in 2012 to draw together knowledge and experience on dryland restoration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Drylands Restoration Initiative|url=http://www.fao.org/forestry/aridzone/restoration/en/|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|access-date=14 April 2016|archive-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723220152/http://www.fao.org/forestry/aridzone/restoration/en/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, FAO published global guidelines for the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes in drylands, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.<ref>{{cite book|title=Global guidelines for the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes in drylands|date=June 2015|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|isbn=978-92-5-108912-5|url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5036e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423203240/http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5036e.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-23 |url-status=live<!-- |access-date=June 2015 -->}}</ref>
| |||