Difference between revisions of "Team:SCAU-China/Background"

According to the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, signed in Paris in October 1994.“Desertification”refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas caused by various factors include climate variability and human activities. [1]

Desertification is one of the major environmental issues that are currently widely concerned around the world. It mainly occurs in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. [2] According to the statistics of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people. Therefore, desertification ranks among the greatest environmental challenges today and is a major impediment to meeting basic human needs in drylands.[3]

Some 10–20% of drylands are already degraded (medium certainty).The regions that have been affected and expected to esertified land account for 55% in Africa, North America and China account for 19%, South America accounts for 10%, Asia accounts for 34%, Australia accounts for 75%, and Europe accounts for 2%. Desert and desertified land account for 95% of the land area in arid and semi-arid areas, and 28% of land area in semi-humid areas. The world averages about 5 to 70,000 square kilometers of land desertification each year, with the most rapid development in tropical savannah and temperate semi-arid grassland areas.[3]

Desertification has strong adverse impacts on non-drylands as well; affected areas may sometimes be located thousands of kilometers away from the desertified areas. The biophysical impacts include dust storms, downstream flooding, impairment of global carbon sequestration capacity, and regional and global climate change. The societal impacts relate notably to human migration and economic refugees, leading to deepening poverty and political instability.

The management of desertification is imminent.

[1]中华人民共和国林业部防治沙漠化办公室.联合国关于在发生严重干旱和/或荒漠化的国家特别是在非洲防治荒漠化的公约[M].北京:中国林业出版社,1994.

[2]吴波.我国荒漠化现状、动态与成因[J].林业科学研究,2001(02):195-202.

[3]Ecosystems AND HUMAN WELL-BEING(Desertification Synthesis).MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASESSMENT