Desertification By: Tara and Tiffany Morgan

What is Desertification? Desertification is a process where a used habitable land becomes so dangerously eroded that any remaining loses its nutrients and forms into a desert First stared in the Sahara Desert 5,000 years ago

Map of Desertification

The Aral sea was once the world fourth largest saline body of water Was 68,000 km2 It has been steadily shrinking since the 1960’s

What are the causes?

Other Human Causes Overgrazing –Kills plants holding down soil Cultivation Destruction of vegetation in arid regions (often for fuels) Poor grazing management after accidental burning of semi-arid vegetation -reduces and eliminates plants that help bind the soil.

Causes continued… The biggest cause is Global Warming –Because of desertification, It is speeding up the already accelerate desertification –It is making it harder for the people who are trying to slow the process

Continuation Another major cause of desertification is because of the loss of perennial grasses, grasslands, savannas, and open woodlands. Perennial grasses GrasslandsSavannahs

Who is causing this? Humans are the major cause of the growth of desertification. In many countries, poverty and over- population is the major issue Because of this, people have to destroy the forest-belts, they practice poor irrigation, and agricultural methods like slash and burn, and soil nutrient mining.

The Effects The effects of desertification are increasing every year in various places. Some of the effects are: Reducing the ability of land Supporting life Affecting wild species Domestic animals Damaging agricultural crops

Effects continued… Desertification hurts more than one billion people in over 100 countries 75 billion tons of soil is eroded every year Every day 25,000 people die of hunger The dry land degradation reduces carbon storage contributing to global warming

Who this is hurting most The nomads way of life, which are in the affected areas such as Mongolia and Niger The nomads live off their herds and due to the lack of greens that the animals are starving and dying from, the nomads that live off them as well As the desert closes in on there land they are forced to leave, killing the way of the nomad life that has existed for hundreds of years

Where is this taking place? China –Mongolia Now 41% is now desert Gobi desert is rapidly growing Africa –Niger ¾ is now covered in desert Sahara spreads 6 kilometers per year and rapidly getting close to the Tenera desert India Western parts of North America (not as high up as Canada) Australia South America Specialist fear that the Mediterranean will be nothing but desert in the future if desertification is not stopped

Can desertification be stopped? Desertification can be stopped, but it is going to take billions of dollars to bring it to an end. The cost now is $42 billion a year. Locals need to learn to stop over grazing and better conserve water

Government movement First brought up by EuroMed in 2006 but nothing came of it In March 2008 EuroMed took another serious look at desertification May 16 th, 2008 epp-ed held a meeting with European parliament to discuss how to handle desertification June 17 th is ‘World day to Combat Desertification’

Videos GIlku4http:// GIlku4 &feature=relatedhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=A8nvfttOTF4 &feature=related

Works Cited ertification.htmhttp:// ertification.htm htmlhttp:// 186.html n.gifhttp:// n.gif naDesertification.jpghttp://oregonstate.edu/international/CWG/17/Chi naDesertification.jpg p55257/ p55257/