Desertification is characterized as the process of land degradation in arid areas, semi-arid and dry sub-humid, resulting from human activities or natural factors (variations climate). This concept was developed during the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
This phenomenon affects approximately 60,000 square kilometers of land per year in different parts of the planet. The various human activities, carried out in an unsustainable way, have caused drastic reductions in the vegetation and in the productive capacity of the soil. Among the main causes responsible for desertification are:
- Deforestation of areas with native vegetation;
- Intense use of soil, both in agriculture and livestock;
- Inappropriate irrigation practices;
- Mining.
The main consequences of desertification are:
- Elimination of vegetation cover;
- Biodiversity reduction;
- Soil salinization and alkalinization;
- Intensification of the erosive process;
- Reduction in the availability and quality of water resources;
- Decrease in soil fertility and productivity;
- Reduction of arable land;
- Reduction of agricultural production;
- Development of migratory flows.
According to the Worldwatch Institute, about 15% of the Earth's surface suffers from some type of desertification. This phenomenon affects more than 110 countries, harming the lives of more than 250 million people. The regions hardest hit by desertification are: West South America, North and South Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Northwest China, Australia and Southwest United States.
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Brazil also has areas affected by desertification. According to data from the Ministry of the Environment, around 13% of the Brazilian territory is vulnerable to desertification, as it is formed by semi-arid areas. The desertification process affects portions of the Northeast region, the Cerrado region of Tocantins and the north of Mato Grosso.
In order to reduce the desertification process, the United Nations (UN) created, in 1994, the Commission against Desertification, whose main objective is to develop effective projects that can stop the expansion of this phenomenon, especially in countries from Africa.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira e. "Desertification"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/desertificacao.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.
