Combating Land Degradation Future Directions

Following from the 1992 Earth Summit, where desertification was recognised as one of the biggest environmental challenges hindering sustainable development, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD was established in 1994. UNCCD, now with 197 Parties, is a legally binding international agreement that aims to bring together environmental and developmental issues with sustainable land management solutions. Marking the day of its adoption, 17th June each year is Desertification and Drought Day.Desertification refers to the land degradation in drylands. These arid, semi arid and sub humid areas make up 40 of global land area and support the livelihoods of two billion people worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Drylands are present in every continent and are mostly prevalent across Africa and Asia.The degradation of drylands is caused by climatic variations and other human activities such as deforestation and unsustainable land use amongst other factors. This has severe implications, for example resulting in the loss of 24 billion tons of fertile soil per year, putting peoples' livelihoods and lives at risk. Bhanwar Lal Karela "Combating Land Degradation: Future Directions" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-5 , August 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd50491.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/geography/50491/combating-land-degradation-future-directions/bhanwar-lal-karela