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Desertification is a gradual process of increased soil aridity.Desertification has been defined in the text of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities."
Desertification is the process by which a piece of land becomes a desert, as the word desert implies. [3] The loss or destruction of the biological potential of the land is referred to as desertification. [4] It reduces or eliminates the potential for plant and animal production on the land and is a component of the widespread ecosystem ...
Desertification is one of the issues of environmental concern in Nigeria, particularly the northern part of the country. According to UNEP [4] in 1993, Northern Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world at about 3.5%, caused by land degradation, increase in agricultural intensity, over-grazing of livestock, and demand for fuel by cutting down trees.
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), also known as the "Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems", [1] [2] is a landmark study from 2019 by 107 experts from 52 countries.
But included in that 10–20% of land is the approximately 9 million square kilometers of seasonally dry-lands that humans have converted to deserts through the process of desertification. [7] The tallgrass prairies of North America, on the other hand, have less than 3% of natural habitat remaining that has not been converted to farmland.
Overgrazing by livestock can lead to land degradation. Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. [1] Human activities are often the main cause, such as unsustainable land management practices.
Humans play a role in desertification through ill-advised land utilization practices and the mounting pressure placed on finite resources due to population growth. Essentially, human-induced desertification is a result of the exploitation of "non-ideal lands," excessive resource exploitation, unsustainable practices, and the failure to replace ...
Consequently, deforestation, largely driven by human activities, has played a significant role in the desertification of Ghana. [4] Climate change is a significant contributor to desertification in Ghana. [19] The country is especially susceptible since it relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture and has inadequate capacity for mitigation and ...