World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought today In May, Namibia declared a national drought emergency, with 14 percent of the population classified as food insecure. In 2012, the United States experienced its worst drought since the 1950s, affecting 80 percent of agricultural land. In 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa - the worst since the early 1990s - affected nearly 13million people. Over the past quarter-century, the droughts are projected to become more widespread, intense and frequent as a result of climate change. The long-term impacts of prolonged drought on ecosystems are profound, accelerating land degradation and desertification. The consequences include impoverishment and the risk of local conflict over water resources and productive land. UN secretary general said, “The droughts are hard to avert, but their effects can be mitigated. Because they rarely observe national borders or demand a collective response. Let us therefore shift from managing crises to preparing for droughts and building resilience by fully implementing the outcomes of the high-level meeting on national drought policy held in Geneva last March.” The Environmental Watch Trust (EWT) has celebrated World Day to Combat Desertification under theme ‘don’t let our future dry up’. Speaking at the seminar, Shumaila Javed Bhatti said “Desertification is a global issue, with serious implications worldwide for biodiversity, eco-safety, poverty eradication, socio-economic stability and sustainable development. Some 50 million people may be displaced within the next 10 years as a result of desertification.” The EWT Chairperson further said the dry lands are particularly vulnerable to water scarcity and since 80 percent of the land in some part of the world are either arid or semi-arid the problem of water scarcity will cause greater stress in these dry lands. On the occasion, Soil Science Expert Dr Naveed Ashraf said the land- degradation "neutral" world can be achieved by reframing policies in terms of drought preparedness and risk management, social and economic interventions among vulnerable communities, by encouraging sustainable land management and establishing early warning systems. Dr Naeem Ghani said that this year’s slogan calls for everyone to take action to promote preparedness and resilience to water scarcity, desertification and drought. The slogan embodies the message that we are all responsible for water and land conservation and sustainable use and that there are solutions to these serious natural challenges.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:50:37 +0000