1. Combating Desertification
How far is desertification a feedback to human’s misuse of the natural resources in the semi-arid regions?

2. Misuse – in an unsustainable way
What resources?
Land
Water
Energy resources
Results: demands exceeding the carrying capacity

3. Misuse of the Land Resources 1
From pastoralism to sedentary cultivation & grazing in rangelands
Desertification sets in
About 65% of dryland areas are rangelands
Some suited to sustainable grazing than crop production
Results: inadequate fallowing for recovery

4. Misuse of the Land Resources 2
From free mobility to restricted movements
Desertification sets in
Results: lower flexibility & adjustment of economic activity to meet disturbances and stress

5. Misuse of the Land Resources 3
From full control to threat of long-term security
loss of incentive for
maintaining
environmentally
sustainable practices
Results: Desertification sets in – vicious cycle!

6. Misuse of the Water Resources 1
From smaller households to large population
Great need to increase in food production
Large-scale irrigation, tapping underground water environmental crises

7. Misuse of the Water Resources 2
Environmental crises
e.g. water-logging & salinization, water
pollution, eutrophication,
over-exploitation of
groundwater aquifers
Results: degrading productivity of the land

8. Misuse of the Energy Resources 1
Destruction of vegetation in arid regions
Often for fuelwood / firewood
Leading to unprotected land
Results: Land degradation

9. Desertification – other factors?
Other than human activities?

10. Desertificaton - Definition
a process of turning the productive land into desert
a land degradation process that involves a continuum of change, from slight to very severe degradation of the plant and soil resource, and is due to human activities.
is also a situation on the desert expansion. That means desert is continuously expanding to the surrounding area.

11. + Desertification ↓ Soil fertility; soil degradation & Soil aridity
Human factors
Climatic change
Impropriate irrigation
-salinization +
High pop.
Poor / poverty
Global warming
Less PPT
Over -grazing
Deforest- ation
Over -cropping
↓ Soil fertility; soil degradation & Soil aridity
∴infiltration >E underground water table rises salinization

12. What can we draw?
“If the climatic factors are said to be the main causes of desertification, then human activities are going to intensify it.”

13. Desertification & Climate Change
They are interlinked!

14. Desertification & Climate Change
Long-term climate change (aridity)
Global warming  rising temp  lower soil moisture hinder condensation & rainfall  drop of water table  further drop of soil moisture  loss of vegetation cover (protection) loss of organic matters less cohesive soil  easy erosion by wind & water  desertification climate change  land degradation  loss of vegetation  higher CO2 emissions global warming  lower evaporanspiration  lower air humidity  less & infrequent rainfall …..
Temporary / high magnitude drought periods
in semi-arid areas

15. Effects of desertification
Atmosphere
-local climate
↓PPT
drought
-macro climate
global warming
Hydrosphere
-water cycle
breaks down
Lithosphere
-loss of arable
salinization
-land intensify the
soil erosion
Biosphere
-extinction of plants & animals
-↓biodiversity
Upset the balance of ecosystem

16. Effects Atmosphere 1) Micro (i)↓PPT+↑T° ↑T in day time &↓ T in night
time↑ET/reflection ↑diurnal range of T°
(ii) ↑wind speed  ∵no veg cover / shelter
(iii) ↓relative humidity
2) Macro
(i)Global warming
(ii)Sandstormexpanding of desert

17. Effects Lithosphere 1)loss of arable land
soil texture change to sandy  ↓cohesive
power (cannot hold water) not suitable for veg growth
2)intensify the soil erosion
1.↑ deforestationno root to bind the soil
 ↑ soil erosion↑ silting

18. Effects Hydrosphere 1)Water cycle breaks down
∵↓PPT & ↑ evaporation(∵ no shelter)
 rivers and wells dried up
Biosphere
1)lower the bio-diversity
∵↓PPT & unevenly dis.+deforestation
scattered veg. (veg. Is shorter, few
species, less luxuriant)extinction

19. Effects Others 1)lower the income ∵PPT ↓  crops productivity ↓
2)use a large amt of $ for soil protection & recovery
(i.e. UNCED US$1,100 m per yr to recover the deserted land)

20. What are the way out?
Between LDCs & MDCs….

21. How to solve – In LDCs
1. Control the pop. growth / natural increase by using family planning, in order to decrease the land use capacity
2. The number of grazing and the rate of cultivation should not over the carrying capacity of land

22. How to solve – In LDCs
3. improve farming & grazing methods, to check reduce soil erosion and salinization
i) suitable timing and amount to carry out irrigation
plant the halophytes (which can adapt salty &
droughted soil) e.g. Chenopodiaceae
ii)sufficient fallowing period
animal welfare (e.g. Kenya)

23. How to solve – In LDCs
4. Legislation: ban the deforestation and over grazing, etc., in order to balance the ecosystem of desert.
5. Afforestation i.e. wind break trees & drought
resistant plants
6. Stone lines e.g. in Burkina Faso
7. Building reservoir and canal
e.g, The Indira Gandhi Canal

24. How to solve – In MDCs 1) international aid (e.g. Green Peace)
technology, low interest rate of loan &
education
2) scientific research
e.g World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWC) 

25. How to solve – In MDCs Both citizens in MDCs & LDCs have the
responsibility.
i) Don’t buy valuable halophytes (e.g. Fat Choi)
ii) 5R(reuse, reduce, renew, recycle, rethink)
iii) Fund raising

26. Effectiveness? LDCs 1)Money? LDCs are so poor
2)International aid? lack of technology,
efficient farming skill
& low education
3)Attitude? X family planning

27. Effectiveness? MDCs 1) Exploitation? try to get more raw materials
& resources from LDCs
2) Human behaviour?? rapid ↑in living
standard & large amt
of wastes are produced
MDCs

28. The Recent Philosophy……
Remarks
The Recent Philosophy……

29. Remarks: “bottom-up approach”
~ drawing local communities to help:
(1) planning, decision-making & implementation
(2) empower those people who are most directly affected by desertification / those depend most on the land for their livelihood,
to become the initiators of projects
(3) enable local communities affected by these problems to understand properly the issues
*Take courage in formulating their unique solutions to the problems
within their particular environmental & socio-economic conditions

30. ~END~