In Focus: Desertification, land degradation and drought

Sand dunes at the foot of Mount Everest

China has seen eight sandstorms in year 2023, and the frequent occurrences of sandstorms once again highlight the urgency and importance of the global joint efforts to desertification, land degradation and drought.

Desertification, land degradation and drought are global issues and severe challenges facing mankind, which have important impacts on ecological security, poverty eradication, social and economic stability and sustainable development, especially for the least developed countries and landlocked developing countries in Africa.

Land degradation: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) first proposed the concept of land degradation in the 1970s, which not only includes the reduction of land productivity and the capacity to provide humans with living resources, but also includes loss of biodiversity and aggravation of ecological risks. According to the Global Land Outlook 2 released by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on April 27, 2022, up to 40% of the world’s land has been degraded, directly affecting half of the global population.

Desertification: In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) clearly put forward the concept of “desertification”: desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid regions with drought disasters due to factors such as climate change and irrational human economic activities. At present, the global desertification area has reached 36 million square kilometers, accounting for 1/4 of the entire Earth’s land area.

Drought: Drought is a phenomenon of water shortage caused by the imbalance between its collection and distribution, and supply and demand. According to the classifications of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), drought can be divided into meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and socioeconomic droughts. The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29% since 2000 (WMO, 2021).

June 17, 2023 is the 29th World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought with the theme “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration”. This global observance event will be celebrated on 16 June 16, 2023 in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters.

To address desertification, land degradation and drought requires us not only to transform social and economic development strategies, but also to establish partnerships, provide financial assistance, and strengthen scientific research and technological innovation.

This month’s journal focuses on topics related to desertification, land degradation and drought, and discusses human livelihood and sustainable development with readers.