To simplify an understanding of the complex issues around dryland and groundwater degradation;
To provide a forum for continuing dialogue; and
To construct a suite of technology-based learning products.
Let's begin with the obvious question: Why Desertification / Why Groundwater Degradation? The levels of awareness of CO2 levels in the atmosphere, rapidly melting icecaps, Ozone depletion and global warming are now at the forefront of conversation and thinking. Desertification is, if anything, a confusing and unknown term to many as is the inter-relationship between it and the depletion and contamination of the small amount of freshwater on the planet.
There are numerous resources scattered around which address these issues on both global and local levels. The first step of this site is to begin to pull these together and extract useful facts which might make the subjects a bit more easily understood. Gradually, this repository will grow in volume. Ultimately, these two issues will be the subject of a documentary.
Let' begin with the idea of desertification. If we start with a more formal definition, it can show just how complicated the idea can be. Desertification is the impoverishment of terrestrial ecosystems under the impact of man. It is the process of deterioration in these ecosystems that can be measured by reduced productivity of desirable plants, undesirable alterations in the biomass and the diversity of the micro and macro fauna and flora, accelerated soil deterioration, and increased hazards for human occupancy.
The term dates back in use since at least 1949 when French geographer Andre Aubreville, a perceptive and well-informed botanist and ecologist, published a book on "Climate, Forets, et Desertification de l'Afrique Tropicale". He thought of desertification as the changing of productive land into a desert as the result of ruination of land by man-induced soil erosion. Most of what he thought was correct - especially the man-induced aspect.
He stated: "The closed forests are shrinking and disappearing, like evaporating spots. The trees of the open forests and savannas become more and more spaced out. On all sides the bare skin of Africa appears as its thin green veil of savanna burns, releasing a grey fog of dust into the atmosphere. Arable land is carried away by the yellow waters of rivers in flood. Slabs of sterile truncated soil, bearing tufts of grass around uprooted bushes, recall a kind of leprosy that is spreading over the face of Africa . . .".
But, this is less about deserts and more about drylands. Yet, drylands are not unfertiles areas. Just more delicate - like when organic matter is readily washed or blown away. Soil salinization can produce similar effects. A common misapprehension about desertification is that it spreads from a desert core, like a ripple on a pond. The truth is that land degradation can and does occur far from any climatic desert; the presence or absence of a nearby desert has no direct relation to desertification. Desertification usually begins as a spot on the landscape where land abuse has become excessive. From that spot, which might be around a watering point or in a cultivated field, land degradation spreads outward if the abuse continues.
A second misconception is that droughts are responsible for desertification. Droughts do increase the likelihood that the rate of degradation will increase on non-irrigated land if the carrying capacity is exceeded. However, well-managed land will recover from droughts with minimal adverse effects when the rains return. The deadly combination is land abuse during good periods and its continuation during periods of deficient rainfall.
So, in getting back to the original question of Why Desertification, the most direct answer lies in some of the facts compiled by the various agencies of the United Nations.
1. About 30% of earth's land - including the 70% of dryland - is affected by drought. 2. Every day, about 33,000 people starve to death. 3. Desertification is devouring more than 20,000 square miles of land worldwide every year. 4. Desertification affects 74% of the land in North America while in Africa, more than 2.4 million acres of land (73% of its drylands) are affected by desertification. 5. Dust from deserts and drylands is blowninto cities around the world affecting the health of people in all countries.
Groundwater depletion and degradation (pollution) is becoming all too extensive. More and more regions of each continent are becoming affected by more frequent and prolonged periods of drought. There is little question that the tropics appear to be growing further in size and expanding more from the equator. The impact of that shift is beginning to have a growing influence on weather patterns and, ultimately, global agriculture and meat production. The water quality is simply getting worse. Growing areas on each continent are now affected.
Water, rather than land shortages, are now stopping agriculture expanding in many regions, and the UN fears that water shortages could jeopardise food supplies, and trigger economic stagnation. With nearly 70% (up to 95% in some areas of India and Africa) of all freshwater being used for agriculture, the discussions must now shift to raising the awareness and understanding the characteristics of global freshwater reserves. Rivers, lakes and reservoirs are the obvious and most visible. Yet, they hold the smallest quantities of freshwater. It is the icecaps and aquifers that need more focus and attention. Worldwide, 97% of the planet's liquified freshwater is storied in aquifers.
Numerous rivers and lakes are boundaries between two or more countries. They are trans-boundaries. The political implications and responsibilities of these shared resources are being severely challenged. There are an estimated 263 major rivers and it is estimated that 45% of the world's territory are located in international watershed basins.In the United States, the Rio Grande River and the Great Lakes are two such international boundaries. Yet, the Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, Potomac, and Delaware Rivers are a few examples of trans-boundaries between states. They are equally as challenged as the international boundaries.
Who gets the water and who really owns the stewardship ultimately affects not just where the water-use restrictions will be enforced, but the quality of the water reserves that sit beneath the visible surface. Very soon, the question will be much greater than simply restrictions on watering lawns or washing cars. In most of the countries in the developing world, it's simply a question of having enough water to drink - not hundreds of gallons but a few gallons per day just to survive. That's why it's important.
These are just some of the facts. There is no single silver bullet to fix these threats. Ultimately, these problems will affect each of us. The world is becoming more and more global - from services to manufacturing to agricultural production. The global demands on water are a greater threat to survival than the cost of petroleum.
This site and its links to other sites will provide increasingly more details and explore more deeply the issues and threats to global drylands and freshwater resources.
Copyright 2010 Dimidia, LLC All rights reserved. Last Update: March 02, 2010
