Algiers yesterday hosted the official commemoration of World Environment Day under the theme “Don’t Desert Drylands!” This is the United Nations’ International Year of Deserts and Desertification so the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) focus on this topic for World Environment Day was appropriate.
“Drylands are found in all regions, cover more than 40 percent of the earth and are home to nearly two billion people — one-third of the world’s population,” said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “For most dryland dwellers, life is hard and the future often precarious. They live on the ecological, economic and social margins. It is essential that we do not neglect them or the fragile habitats on which they depend.”
Desertification is about land degradation: The loss of the land’s biological productivity, caused by human-induced factors and climate change. It affects one-third of the earth’s surface and over a billion people. Moreover, it has potentially devastating consequences in terms of social and economic costs.
Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Middle East, is already over 90 percent desert, including the Rub Al-Khali, the biggest mass of sand on the planet. Although Saudi Arabia is largely desert, the land is not barren. Plants, birds and desert animals have adapted to the climate but their habitat is frequently threatened. The Kingdom has established 11 wildlife reserves and plans to create more. The advance of the desert, the scarcity of natural water resources and mankind’s impact on the land are important environmental issues for Saudi Arabia.
World Environment Day (http://www.unep.org/wed/2006/english/), commemorated each year on June 5, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. UNEP hopes that World Environmental Day will give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes toward environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
