Land Desertification: Causes, Effects, And Solutions

Name Course Instructor Date Land Desertification Desertification is regarded as one of the world’s leading environmental and ecological problems. Land desertification entails the process by which land degrades in arid, sub-humid or semi-arid areas ignited by either human activities or natural climatic factors. The process has led to persistent degradation of the fragile ecosystem as well as dry land (Verón, Paruelo and Oesterheld 751). It happens when soil quality reduces, thus, becoming impoverished particularly in arid areas. The process of desertification makes a productive land to be unproductive therefore impacting negatively on the activities of the people. It is a profound problem at the global level since most of the earth’s surface is a desert land. Initially, the land was in the good state supporting the growth of vegetation but later on destroyed due to natural causes or the activities of human beings. Varon et.al shows that the problem is majorly caused by overgrazing globally. Additionally, factors such climate change, urbanization, deforestation, over drafting of groundwater, tillage practices, and natural disasters has contributed to the problem. Desertification is the key root of increased cases of hunger in various regions of the world (Verón, Paruelo and Oesterheld 753). The paper gives an analysis of desertification basing on various elements like the causes, the effects, solutions as well as the reasons as to why it is a global issue. Desertification is regarded to be an ancient problem. Despite the fact that desertification is the profound problem nowadays, it is not a new phenomenon but originated long time ago as human beings started to utilize land for cultivation and to keep livestock. According to Plato, the vanishing of the fertile land originated in ancient times. For instance, Geert et. al shows that the current problem of desertification in Argentina is said to have originated from the considerate degradation of the land at the times of the Spanish conquest. It is during these moments that Great Britain and France launched a joint forestry commission that kept on reminding the colonial administration to prioritize the management of the natural resources as a way of timely curbing of the issue. In the 20th century, desertification was dominant in West Africa of which the problem still persists especially in Senegal and the Southern part of Niger. As early as the 1920s, the scientists, geographers, and cultural anthropologists were evidently concerned about the problem of desertification (Geert, John and Ann 1784). This clearly indicates that the problem has existed for a long period of time, therefore, needs to change in tactics of curbing the problem. In semi-arid areas, desertification process happens in the instances where the amount of rain received is less than 600mm and such regions mostly border arid areas. Veron et.al reveals that in 2500 B.C Saharan land was fertile with a capacity to produce foods but gradually dried to become a desert land which spread proportionally. The increased cases of desertification are expected advance due to global warming that has been predicted to cause over 17% of new land to become a desert within a century. This simply tells that if desertification is not ...