|
|
|
Education Corner - Desertification and Drought
|
|
|
|
|
Desertification is not the natural expansion of existing deserts but the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. It is a gradual process of soil productivity loss and the thinning out of the vegetative cover because of human activities and climatic variations.
Desertification already affects one quarter of the total land surface of the globe today. Over the past 20 years, the surface area lost is equal to all of the farmland of the United States of America. Roughly one third of the world’s land surface is threatened by desertification. Estimates are that in 2025 the decline of arable land available will be two-thirds in Africa, one-third in Asia, and about one-fifth in South America.
The livelihoods of one billion people are threatened and many of them are at risk of being displaced
 Learning to combat desertification
.PDF Source MAB website
This educational kit on desertification is principally targeted to teachers of primary school education and their pupils, aged 10-12 years old. Its positive approach demonstrates that desertification is not inevitable and that everyone, at his or her own level, has a role to play in Earth's future. It includes a teacher's guide, a set of case studies, two cartoons and a wall poster.
Language(s) English, French, Spanish Contact MAB programme
|
|
| | |
 Desertification
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification defines the term desertification as 'land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities'. |
|
|
How to get involved?
