What is desertification ?

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Desertification: Causes, Effects and Control of Desertification

by Puja Mondal Natural Resources

Desertification is taking place much faster worldwide than historically and usually arises from the demands of increased populations that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals.

It is land degradation occurring in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid areas of the world. It is a process where in fertile lands become arid through land mismanagement or climate changes. Many deserts in the world are man-made.

Desertification is taking place much faster worldwide than historically and usually arises from the demands of increased populations that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals.

These susceptible dry lands cover 40 percent of the earth’s surface and put at risk more than 1 billion people who are dependent on these lands for survival. Around 80% of the productive land in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world is estimated to be converting into deserts and around 600 million people are threatened by desertification (according to UNEP).

Globally around 2 billion acres of land have become deserts in the past 50 years. The current rate of desertification is around 15 million acres per year, the worst being in sub-saharan Africa. Than desert in Rajasthan covers about 12,000 hectares of land.

Causes of Desertification:

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