Desertification in Chile

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Salt lake in Atacama desert

Chile: President Piñera Says Desert Growing ‘A Metre Per Day’

by Alison Depsky

Two-thirds of Chile is facing desertification, an equivalent of 48 million hectares, President Sebastian Piñera warned Monday. The Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, considered the most arid in the world, is growing by over one metre a day said Piñera.

Desertification in Chile with the growing Atacama Desert (Photo: Terry Feuerborn) – http://www.argentinaindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/Chile-desertification-photo-Terry-Feuerborn-300×225.jpg

Desertification is caused by indiscriminate logging, over or under irrigation, mismanaged agricultural techniques, and crops that generate erosion and organic material in the soil. The most eroded areas tend to be the poorest, areas where natural resources were used to rapidly fuel the country’s economic growth.

“Over one and a half million Chileans live and suffer the consequences of desertification,” Piñera said.

Read the full article: The Argentina Independent