Food. Feed. Fibre - Resolution To Combat Global Desertification

Food. Feed. Fibre - Resolution To Combat Global Desertification

 (By Sravani Gokaraju ) 

Image By:-Goutham Sagar

Food, shelter, and clothes are three basic essentials needed by a human to survive from their birth to death. But in order to cater to the needs of the growing population, fertile lands are being destroyed, leading to desertification.  

Desertification is the process of continuous degradation of dryland ecosystems due to climate variations and human activities. It is happening vastly all over the world and it is a serious issue. Topsoil, groundwater reserves, surface run-off, human, animal, and plant populations are all affected by desertification. It also increases the possibility of unpredictable natural calamities such as stronger flash floods, dust slides, and sand storms.  

There are many causes of desertification. But one of the main causes is overpopulation. Overpopulation has resulted in an increase in the demand for food, clothing, and shelter. So to meet these needs, more and more land is required. As the existing land is used up already, to accommodate more people and to satisfy their basic needs, the land occupied by forests and other natural ecosystems are being used. Trees are being cut down and forests are being destroyed for agriculture and cattle farming. An increase in population has also resulted in more consumption of meat. So more land is being needed to rear cattle. Also, a large herd of cattle is given a limited place to graze,  resulting in overgrazing.  

Since the majority of the population doesn’t lead a minimalistic life, our greed to eat more, want more clothes and bigger houses are also leading to desertification. Cities are being needed to expand as many people are shifting from villages in search of jobs, for education, or for a better standard of living. Industries are being set up to produce all the necessary goods and to set those up, again, forests are being cut down.  

Urbanization, pollution, and climate change caused by urbanization are all leading to desertification. Other causes of desertification include over usage of groundwater and tillage practices in agriculture that make the soil more vulnerable to wind. All of these not only cause desertification but also cause natural calamities like drought, floods, etc which again further lead to desertification of the land.  

Already one-fifth of the entire land on Earth is threatened with desertification. It is already affecting the lives of millions of people who have their livelihood dependent on drylands and the services that these ecosystems provide. If desertification continues to grow further and affect more and more land, there will be a water scarcity in drylands. That will limit the production of crops, food, wood and other things the ecosystems provide us. Loss of healthy soil will lead to a reduction in food production and future food security, and economic development will also be impacted. All of this will lead to having a very limited supply of food for a huge population. It will also cause the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, resulting in an increase in global warming.  

Even wildlife will get impacted. They will not have proper homes to stay, food to eat, or water to drink. On top of this, harsh climatic conditions just make it worse for them.  

Desertification is a serious problem that must be prevented and reversed. In order to do so, everyone must contribute. Governments must impose strict policies that the public must adhere to. Changes in management must be made. Active stakeholders and local communities must do their part too. Integrating land and water management to protect soils from erosion, salinization, and other forms of degradation, protecting the vegetative cover, integrating the use of land for grazing and farming where conditions are favorable, applying a combination of traditional practices with locally acceptable and locally adapted land-use technologies are some preventions that can be taken.  

Establishing seed banks, introducing selected species, countering erosion through terracing and other measures, enriching the soil with nutrients, and planting trees are ways desertification can be reversed in already affected areas.  

Drylands are a very important type of ecosystem that not only provides food to humans but also other animals. They must be protected and taken care of so that further desertification can be avoided. After all, prevention is better than cure

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The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.