U.N. Calls for More Efforts to Fight Desertification
10/26/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: U.N. Calls for More Efforts to Fight Desertification
Source: Xinhua
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 26, 1999
UNITED NATIONS (Oct. 26) XINHUA - Degradation of drylands or
desertification affects 70 percent of the world's 5.2 billion
hectares of agricultural drylands in 110 countries, or some 30
percent of global land area, the U.N. said Tuesday.
The well-being of 250 million people have already suffered and an
additional one billion people are at risk, according to figures
released by the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP).
Africa and Asia are seriously affected, but also parts of North
America and Europe. Desertification costs the world 42 billion U.S.
dollars a year, 9 billion dollars in Africa alone.
Degradation results in migration and political instability while
desertification played some part in sparking off at least ten recent
armed conflicts in arid lands, such as Somalia, according to U.N.
statistics.
Degradation of arid and semi-arid lands is caused primarily by
overcultivation, overgrazing, bad irrigation practices and
deforestation, as well as by drought and climate variability.
U.N. Mobilization to fight desertification came before the 159 member
countries of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
meet in Recife, Brazil from November 15-26 to promote efforts in this
direction.