WASHINGTON, 9 July — Those living in the Gulf are the last people in the world that need to be told about the dangers, and consequences, of desertification.
But now, desertification is no longer a problem for those who live in desert countries. It has become a serious problem worldwide. It is devastating farmlands, threatening national security interests and jeopardizing global supplies of food and raw materials. It is also a problem that is largely preventable, according to Senator James Jeffords, Independent —Vermont, and other speakers at a conference hosted by EarthAction and the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
At today’s “Drylands Can Be Bread Baskets” conference, held in Senate offices on Capitol Hill, the organizers called on the United States to lead the world in drylands development. This should be done, they said, because of the links between land degradation, food insecurity and water scarcity that cause desertification, which has already affected 70 percent of all drylands or 30 percent of the Earth’s total land surface.
“Combating desertification is a bi-partisan, common-sense issue in which the United States should take a leading role,” said Senator Jeffords. “It is a self-help approach to increase food supplies for a hungry world.” He added that 841 million people throughout the world go to bed hungry every night.
Over 170 countries have ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) as a framework to address desertification internationally, including the United States last October, with the leadership of Senator Jeffords. Sen. Jeffords recently left his Senate seat in the Republican Party, and declared himself an Independent, which caused a shift in power from Republican control to Democratic control, in the Senate. This is the first time Sen. Jeffords has spoken publicly about policy issues since switching political parties.]
Senators and congressmen spoke at the event, underscoring their feelings of urgency for US involvement.
“Desertification not only affects the natural environment, but also the human one. It places the livelihoods and food supplies of nearly 1 billion people at risk and threatens 110 countries. Each year, approximately 10 million acres of agricultural drylands are lost to desertification. Overall income losses from desertification, borne primarily by developing countries, cost $42 billion, Lois Barber, US Executive Director of EarthAction and conference co-leader.
“Desertification is caused by climactic variations, drought and erosion. Human activities and problems, such as poverty, also contribute. Poor farmers, in particular, often face a desperate choice: Preserve their fragile resources for the future, or overexploit them in the struggle for short-term survival.”
“Widespread poverty in the developing world fuels a vicious cycle where land degradation leads to the loss of fragile soils and limited water resources as people struggle to meet basic needs,” noted Barber. “The well-being of the rural poor is especially vulnerable to the effects of land degradation and desertification,” said Vera Weill-Hallé, IFAD Director of North America and conference co-leader. “Nearly 630 million rural poor live on less than $1 a day in dryland areas, often relying on rain-fed smallholder agriculture to make their livings.”
Global population is projected to increase by 1.1 billion people between 2000-2015, largely in the developing world. Because developing economies are largely agrarian, the group stressed that action-tackling desertification can and must be taken to assure the promise of economic development and food security, conference speakers said. “IFAD’s experience working on land degradation issues shows that broad-based agricultural growth can occur when desertification is halted,” said Takao Shibata, Assistant President of IFAD and speaker at this conference.
The United States is already recognized as a leader in combating desertification, given its successful response to the “dust bowl” of the 1930s. “The dust bowl decimated much of the farmland in Middle America,” said Thomas Kimmell, Executive Director of the Irrigation Association.
“Today, the American ingenuity that helped end this tragedy in the US can be put to use for the benefit of farmers and communities battling desertification worldwide.”
The organizers noted that the following armed conflicts have been linked to water in the 20th Century:
• India and Pakistan, Indus River Basin (1948)
• Israel and Syria, Jordan River Basin (1951-1953)
• Egypt and Sudan, Nile River Basin (1958)
• Ethiopia and Somalia, critical water sources in Ogaden Desert (1963-1964)
• Israel and Syria, Jordan River Basin (1965-1966)
• Iraq and Syria, Euphrates River Basin (1975)
• Mauritania and Senegal; Senegal River Basin (1989-1991)
Many other acute water-related disputes also have occurred throughout the world during the last fifty years.
“Combating desertification must become an important component of US foreign policy,” said Barber. “The alternative is that the US reacts to humanitarian crises with food and military aid directed to help people uprooted by famine, drought, and conflicts over resources.”
The United Nations Office on Desertification (UNSO) has projected 135 million people will be forced to abandon their lands by 2010 because they have become severely degraded.
“Land reclamation projects make sound investments,” said Takao Shibata. “Partnerships with local communities can stabilize and increase agricultural yields, contributing significantly to their food security. When these initiatives are adopted on a large scale, entire countries are more able to withstand future droughts.”