Earth’s desertification emergency: Unprecedented land degradation now threatens Earth’s capacity to sustain humanity

Earth’s desertification emergency: Unprecedented land degradation now threatens Earth’s capacity to sustain humanity

Sub :Env

Sec : Int convention

COP16 UNCCD Report on Land Degradation: Urgent Crisis of Land Degradation

• Land degradation now affects 15 million sq km, more than the size of Antarctica and comparable to the Russian Federation.
• Annually, 1 million sq km of land is newly impacted by degradation.
• 1.2 billion people, primarily the world’s poor, are affected by land degradation.
• Causes:
  • Key drivers include deforestation, urbanization, and unsustainable farming practices.
  • Agriculture, particularly conventional farming, is the primary contributor through:
    • Deforestation (close to 90% attributed to cropland expansion).
    • Soil erosion, pollution, and unsustainable irrigation practices.
    • Overuse of nitrogen- and phosphorus-based fertilizers, destabilizing ecosystems.

Planetary Boundaries and Land-System Breach:

• Planetary Boundaries Framework:
  • Introduced by Johan Rockström in 2009 to define ecological thresholds critical for Earth’s stability.
  • Planetary boundaries are a framework that describes the limits to the impact of human activities on the Earth system. These boundaries are designed to ensure that the environment can continue to self-regulate and that human society can remain stable.
  • Of the nine planetary boundaries, six have already been breached, including the land-system boundary.
• Land-System Breach Details:
  • Breached since 1990, primarily due to deforestation.
  • Benchmark: Maintain 75% of original forest cover; current status: only 60% remains.
• Interlinked Boundaries:
  • Land degradation affects seven of nine planetary boundaries, including:
    • Climate change, freshwater change, biosphere integrity, and biogeochemical flows.
  • Land acts as a keystone for planetary stability; degradation exacerbates stress across these systems.
  • Land degradation has primarily been attributed to agriculture.
    • Conventional agriculture is the leading culprit of land degradation, contributing to deforestation, soil erosion and pollution.
    • Unsustainable irrigation practices deplete freshwater resources, while excessive use of nitrogen- and phosphorus-based fertilizers destabilizes ecosystems.

Call to Action and Solutions:

• UNCCD Recommendations:
  • Promote sustainable land management to build resilience and reduce pressure on other planetary systems.
  • Address drivers like unsustainable agriculture through:
    • Reduced fertilizer use.
    • Improved irrigation practices.
    • Preservation and restoration of forest cover.

Source: DTE