Human Wrongs Watch
– Worldwide, land degradation, severe droughts and advancing desertification are set to force populations to flee their homes and migrate. In the specific case of the Middle East and North of Africa (MENA), such an obliged choice implies the additional risk to turn peoples into easy prey to extremist, terrorist groups.
This quick conclusion does not come out of the blue–the MENA region, which is home to around 400 million people, is one of the world’s most impacted areas by drought and fast advancing desertification.
The situation is such that several scientific researches have been handling the scary scenario that the MENA region may become inhabitable in very few decades from now, even as soon as 2040.
On this, study-based reports are bold clear. See for instance: New Evidence Confirms Risk That Mideast May Become Uninhabitable. And Will the Middle East Become ‘Uninhabitable’?
The international community is set to mark this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) on June 17, under the theme: “Our Land. Our Home. Our Future.” The Day will precisely examine the important link between land degradation and migration.
The WDCD is observed every year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.
What Desertification Is All About?
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations, according to the United Nations.
“Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land.”
Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification, and about one billion people in over one hundred countries are at risk, the world body reports. “These people include many of the world‘s poorest, most marginalized and politically weak citizens.”
The World Day to Combat Desertification is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality (LDN) is achievable through problem solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels,” according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
“Environmental degradation, political instability, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.”
In fact, the Bonn-based UNCCD secretariat timely reminds that in just 15 years, the number of international migrants worldwide has risen from 173 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2015.
Drought, the Big Unknown
Drought, a complex and slowly encroaching natural hazard with significant and pervasive socio-economic and environmental impacts, is known to cause more deaths and displace more people than any other natural disaster, says the UN Convention secretariat.
By 2025, 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions.
Meanwhile, UNCCD reports that the demand for water is expected to increase by 50 per cent by the year 2050. As populations increase, especially in dryland areas, more and more people are becoming dependent on fresh water supplies in land that are becoming degraded. Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century.
“Drought and water scarcity are considered to be the most far-reaching of all natural disasters, causing short and long-term economic and ecological losses as well as significant secondary and tertiary impacts.”
Ten Times Less Available Fresh Water
Per capita availability of fresh water in the region is now 10 times less than the world average, the United Nations has recently warned. Moreover, higher temperatures may shorten growing seasons in the region by 18 days and reduce agricultural yields a further 27 per cent to 55 per cent less by the end of this century.
Add to this that the region’s fresh water resources are among the lowest in the world, and are expected to fall over 50 per cent by 2050, according to the United Nations leading agency in the field of food and agriculture.
Moreover, 90 per cent of the total land in the region lies within arid, semi/arid and dry sub/humid areas, while 45 per cent of the total agricultural area is exposed to salinity, soil nutrient depletion and wind water erosion, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adds.
On this, UNCCD says that to mitigate these impacts, drought preparedness that responds to human needs, while preserving environmental quality and ecosystems, requires involvement of all stakeholders including water users and water providers to achieve solutions for drought.
“Action on mitigating the effects of drought should be implemented considering comprehensive drought early warning and monitoring systems, vulnerability and risk assessment, upstream-downstream water uses, the link between water and land use; livelihood diversification strategies for drought affected people, etc. For example, addressing land degradation upstream improves access to water on site and downstream.”
The health of land is critical in the search for sustainable solutions to water resource provision and management, the UN Convention secretariat informs. “It is essential for countries to be proactive (rather than reactive); be coordinated at regional level (in addition to the country level actions); holistic and multi-sectoral (rather than silos) and to treat drought as a ‘constant risk’ (rather than a ‘crisis’).”
The global observance of #2017WDCD will be on 15 June in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The Day will be hosted by le Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Economie Verte et du Changement Climatique.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification
Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. It addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
Its 195 parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.
The UNCCD is particularly committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification and land degradation. Its secretariat facilitates cooperation between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer for sustainable land management.
As the dynamics of land, climate and biodiversity are intimately connected, the UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to meet these complex challenges with an integrated approach and the best possible use of natural resources.
Related:
- The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse
- New Evidence Confirms Risk That Mideast May Become Uninhabitable
- Mideast: ‘Climate Change Will Make a Difficult Situation Much Worse’
- Will the Middle East Become ‘Uninhabitable’?
- The Time is Ripe to Act against Drought
- Climate Victims – Every Second, One Person Is Displaced by Disaster
- The ‘Water-Employment-Migration’ Explosive Nexus
- 20 Million People Could ‘Starve to Death’ in Next Six Months
- Food Security in the Middle East Sharply Deteriorated
- Worldwide Displacement At Levels Never Seen Before
- Middle East – The Mother of All Humanitarian Crises
- Climate: Africa’s Human Existence Is at Severe Risk
More articles by Baher Kamal in Human Wrongs Watch:
More Plastic than Fish or How Politicians Help Ocean Destruction
The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse
Re-Connect with Nature Now… Before It Is Too Late!
The ‘Water-Employment-Migration’ Explosive Nexus
Asia: 260 Million Indigenous Peoples Marginalised, Discriminated
Mideast: Growing Urbanisation Worsens Water Scarcity, Food Imports
A Grisly Tale of Children Falling Easy Prey to Ruthless Smugglers
Agony of Mother Earth (I) The Unstoppable Destruction of Forests
Agony of Mother Earth (II) World’s Forests Depleted for Fuel
Who Are the Best ‘Eaters’ and How to Use Eggplants as a Toothbrush
African Migrants Bought and Sold Openly in ‘Slave Markets’ in Libya
The Very Survival of Africa’s Indigenous Peoples ‘Seriously Threatened’
20 Million People Could ‘Starve to Death’ in Next Six Months
Indigenous Peoples – Best Allies or Worst Enemies?
Middle East, Engulfed by a ‘Perfect Storm’
Yemen, World’s Largest Humanitarian Crisis
ACP: One Billion People to Speak To Europe with One Voice
Did You Know that the Oceans Have It All?
The Unbearable Cost of Drought in Africa
‘Humanity and Social Justice, a Must for the Future of Work’
Work, What Future? Seven Big Questions Needing Urgent Response
Plastic No More… Also in Kenya
Climate Breaks All Records: Hottest Year, Lowest Ice, Highest Sea Level
New Evidence Confirms Risk That Mideast May Become Uninhabitable
The Indigenous ‘People of Wildlife’ Know How to Protect Nature
These Women Cannot Celebrate Their Day
Antarctic Ice Lowest Ever – Asia at High Risk – Africa Drying Up
UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic
Of Arabs and Muslims and the Big Ban
Every Year 700 Million People Fall Ill from Contaminated Food
A Dire Vacuum in a World in Crisis
Indigenous Peoples Lands Guard 80 Per Cent of World’s Biodiversity
World’s 40,000 MP’s Must Enjoy Their Rights – But Are They?
Want to Prevent Stroke, Diabetes, Cancer? Get Moving… Now!
Trump to Pull Out of the UN, Expel It from the US?
Inequality (III): Less Employment… and More ‘Junk’ Jobs
Inequality (II): “It Will Take 170 Years for Women to Be Paid as Men Are”
Inequality (I): Half of World’s Wealth, in the Pockets of Just Eight Men
Poor Darwin – Robots, Not Nature, Now Make the Selection
When Your Healers Become Your Killers
Is Cash Aid to the Poor Wasted on Tobacco and Alcohol?
Poor Darwin – Robots, Not Nature, Now Make the Selection
When Your Healers Become Your Killers
Is Cash Aid to the Poor Wasted on Tobacco and Alcohol?
“Bonn Has Become an Insider Tip on the International Stage”
Battle of the Desert (and III): The Silk Road
Battle of the Desert (II): A ‘Great Green Wall for Africa’
Battle of the Desert (I): To Fight or to Flee?
Children of the ‘Others’, Sons of Minor Gods
World to Cut Gas Emissions by 25 Percent More Than Paris Agreement
Toxic Air – The ‘Invisible Killer’ that Stifles 300 Million Children
Climate Doomsday – Another Step Closer
What Happens When a Small Farmer Migrates?
‘The Earth Is Not Flat; It Is Urban’
Take a Deep Breath?… But 9 in 10 People Live with Excessive Air Pollution!
Believe It or Not, Pulses Reduce Gas Emissions!
Ships Bring Your Coffee, Snack and TV Set, But Also Pests and Diseases
One Humanity? Millions of Children Tortured, Smuggled, Abused, Enslaved…
Arable Lands Lost at Unprecedented Rate: 33,000 Hectares… a Day!
War on Climate Terror (II): Fleeing Disasters, Escaping Drought, Migrating
War on Climate Terror (I): Deserts Bury Two Thirds of African Lands
African Farmers Can Feed the World, If Only…
Climate Victims – Every Second, One Person Is Displaced by Disaster
400 Million People Live with Hepatitis But They Do Not Know
Rights of Indigenous Peoples ‘Critical’ to Combat Climate Change
Forests: To Farm or Not to Farm? That’s the Question!
‘Monster’ El Niño Subsides, ‘Monster’ La Niña Hitting Soon
‘Modern World Is Chaotic, Confused; Human Security a Must’
Xenophobic Rhetoric, Now Socially and Politically ‘Acceptable’ ?
‘Hate Is Mainstreamed, Walls Are Back, Suspicion Kills’
What If Turkey Drops Its “Human Bomb” on Europe?
Humanitarian Aid – Business As Unusual?
World Oceans Day – A Death Sea Called Mediterranean
The Humanitarian Clock Is Ticking, The Powerful Feign Deafness
Humanitarian Summit, The Big Fiasco
Humanitarian Summit: Too Big to Fail?
Humanitarian Summit Aims to Mobilise Up to 30 Billion Dollars
Africa, Resolved to Address African Problems With African Solutions
‘We Cannot Keep Jumping from Crisis to Crisis’
‘Human Suffering Has Reached Staggering Levels’
Now 1 in 2 World’s Refugees Live in Urban Areas
Middle East – The Mother of All Humanitarian Crises
Mideast: 1 in 3 Pays Bribe to Access Basic Public Services
Climate: Africa’s Human Existence at Severe Risk
No Water in the Kingdom of the Two Seas – Nor Elsewhere
Will the Middle East Become ‘Uninhabitable’?
Can an Animal Heist Fable Help Solve the Middle East Crisis?
A “Colombian Triangle” for Daesh in Libya?
‘Take My Iraqis and Give Me Some Syrians’ – Europe to Turkey
New Nuclear Hysteria in the Middle East
Africa Launches Largest Trading Block with 620 Million Consumers
Big War Lords Playing Brinkmanship Game in Syria
Cameron at large: Want Not to Become a Terrorist? Speak Fluent English!
Women’s Rights First – African Summit
Africa, Only If It Bleeds It Leads?
Seven Top Challenges Facing African Women
Once Auctioned, What to Do with the ‘Stock’ of Syrian Refugees?
Silence, Please! A New Middle East Is in the Making
The Over-Written, Under-Reported Middle East (II): 99.5 Years of (Imposed) Solitude
The Over-Written, Under-Reported Middle East (I): Of Arabs and Muslims
Egypt in the Rear Mirror (I): The Irresistible Temptation to Analyse What One Ignores
Egypt in the Rear Mirror (II): Who Are the Not-So-Invisible Powers Behind the Troglodytes?
Fed Up With Empty Promises, The Arabs May Abandon Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Anti-Nukes Move from Norway to Bahrain
Middle East Nuclear Free Bid Moves to Finland – Yet Another Lost Chance?
Annual Spending on Nuclear Weapons, Equivalent To UN Budget For 45 Years
Watch The Sky–It May Rain Atomic Bombs
Save The Planet? Just Eat Cars, Drink Fuel!
Who Is Afraid of 300 Or 400 Or 500 Million Miserables?
Violence And Death For Millions Of Life-Givers
Whither Egypt (I) – Did You Say Dictatorship?
Whither Egypt (II) – Economic Bankruptcy
Politicians Promote Fossil Fuels with Half a Trillion Dollars a Year
Who Dares to Challenge a 32 Billion Dollars Business – Human Trafficking?
Palestine: Yet Another One Hundred Years of Solitude
Does Anyone Know Anything About A New Country Called South Sudan?
South Sudan: Yet Another Kitchen-Garden?
Somalia? Which Somalia? Some Facts About Everybody’s — Nobody’s Land
Leave a comment