Climate change contributes to desertification and drought
HEALTHY SOILS provide nearly 95% of our food. However, nearly 40% of the land is already in distress. Desertification, soil degradation, and drought threaten our well-being and even our survival.
Climate change exacerbates the problem through several complex mechanisms. Firstly, higher temperatures lead to increased water evaporation, drying out soils and freshwater reserves. This increased evaporation contributes to a higher frequency and intensity of drought episodes, prolonging periods where water demand exceeds availability.
Additionally, climate change alters precipitation patterns, creating more extreme drought conditions in some regions and more intense precipitation in others. These unpredictable variations in rainfall patterns complicate water resource management and can lead to floods followed by long periods of drought, thus worsening the harmful effects on land and the communities that depend on it.
Climate change amplifies the existing challenges of desertification and drought, endangering food security, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability.
As the global population explodes (expected to reach 10 billion by 2050), the pressure on our natural resources reaches alarming heights. Every second, four football fields of fertile land disappear, totaling 100 million hectares per year.
Drought and desertification pose irreversible risks to biodiversity in terms of soil and vegetation impoverishment. They lead to changes in plant composition, a reduction in biomass covering the soil, and decreased growth and reproduction capacity of vegetation. These conditions generally accompany a qualitative and quantitative degradation of water resources and often lead to the development of epidemics (cholera, malaria, etc.).
This year, for World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17, let’s join forces to shape a future where the fight against climate change aligns with sustainable land management for global stability and prosperity.
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