June 5th is World Environment Day, an annual event sponsored by the United Nations to raise environmental awareness at a global level. World Environment Day 2006 will be based in Algiers, Algeria, and include a host of parallel activities and information sessions in more than 100 countries. This year's events highlight a year-long focus by the United Nations on drylands and desertification.
Drylands and desert ecosystems are found on every continent, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the world's land area. Dryland regions, which include the African Sahel, Australian Outback, South American Patagonia, and North American Great Plains, are inhabited by more than two billion people. While many of these individuals live in rural communities, large cities such as Cairo, Mexico City, Phoenix, and Tehran are also located in dryland areas.
Drylands: Population Density. Drylands are home to more than two billion people. Asia's drylands are the most extensive, supporting 1.4 billion inhabitants. For more information, please see the full source notes.
Popular misconceptions hold that drylands are empty and unproductive, but in fact they supply a wide range of unique goods and services that humans depend on to survive and prosper. Despite scarce water resources and variable precipitation patterns, agrarian dryland communities successfully raise domestic livestock, produce energy from woodfuel, and grow food; dryland food production currently accounts for roughly one-third of global agricultural extent. Drylands have high levels of plant and animal biodiversity, including numerous uniquely adapted species, and also support tourism activities. The storage of carbon in dryland soils can also mitigate global warming (White, 2003).
Today, however, many dryland areas are undergoing desertification--loss of productivity as a result of climatic variation and human activities (UNCCD). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Desertification Synthesis reports that some 10-20 percent of drylands are already degraded, largely due to unsustainable land use practices, socioeconomic changes, and poor governance policies (1, 9-10). Since many of the people who reside in drylands live in extreme poverty, continued desertification combined with rapid population growth may trigger significant food and health crises. Additional impacts of desertification, from large dust storms to refugee migrations, could also lead to economic and political instability in both dryland and non-dryland regions (MA, 1-2).
Drylands: Projected Water Supply in Major Watersheds in Drylands for the year 2025. Seven basins in drylands are projected to be water stressed in 2025. Fourteen of the major watersheds in drylands are projected to be water scarce in 2025. In total, half of the major watersheds examined in drylands are predicted to experience some type of water shortage in the coming years. For more information, please see the full source notes.
Preventing desertification requires sustainable and integrated management with broad, ecosystem-based policies that recognize the environmental and economic benefits of drylands in tandem. This approach is particularly relevant for alleviating poverty in developing countries, where 90 percent of dryland inhabitants are located (MA, 14). Sound practices combine environmental preservation and industrial innovations. For example, the introduction of dryland aquaculture and greenhouse agriculture as alternative livelihoods could ensure the physical and economic capacity of drylands while aiding the poor (MA, 15).
EarthTrends features a number of resources related to drylands and desertification. The site hosts a series of maps, environmental indicators, and feature articles (see below) related to drylands. Please see the related links provided for additional informational resources about drylands and desertification.
Happy World Environment Day!
RELATED LINKS
World Environment Day 2006
Contains information, photos, and key facts about this year's World Environment Day events in six languages. This year’s events are organized by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Properties and Management of Drylands
A comprehensive information portal on drylands and desertification published by the FAO and UNCCD Secretariat.
International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC)
An independent nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the problems and solutions unique to arid and semiarid regions.
Ecosystems & Human Well-being: Desertification Synthesis
An overview of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment's findings on desertification and its effect on human well-being and the availability of ecosystem goods and services.
An Ecosystem Approach to Drylands: Building Support for New Development Policies
EarthTrends' excerpt of a larger policy brief that outlines an approach to drylands monitoring and assessment that is both comprehensive and forward-looking.
Unappreciated Gifts: Recognizing the Value of Drylands
EarthTrends' excerpt from "Drylands, People, and Ecosystem Goods and Services: A Web-Based Geospatial Analysis."
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