DESERTİFİCATION

Desertification Meaning;

Is defined as decomposition in arid, semi arid and semi humid lands due to climate changes and human activities.

Drought usually launches desertification or worsens the process. However four other actions of humans are more effective on desertification. The soil is exhausted by misuse of lands and improper agricultural practices. Excessive grazing damages the vegetation cover protecting the soil from erosion. Each year 500,000 hectares land is facing desertification as a result of destruction of forest lands, salted farmlands due to implementing improper irrigation methods, ete. This figüre equals to each new land opened for irrigation.

Desertification in the World

Considering the fact that 1.2 billion people, 25% of lands, 75% of arid lands and 110 countries, 90% of which are devel-oping, are under threat of desertification; serious precau¬tions should be taken against this issue.

Desertification is dominantly felt in regions where the soil layer is extremely sensitive, vegetation layer is extremely thin and the climate is extremely harsh. (The soil can be degraded anywhere, yet degradation in arid climate is called desertification). 70% of arid farmlands of 5,200,000 hectares farmland have lost their farming characteristics ali över the world. Therefore, desertification harms 30% of total lands.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) calculated the general cost of desertification as 42 billion dollars. Annual loss of Africa, for instance, is 9 billion dollars.