Introductory brochure - World Atlas of Desertification

Transcription

WORLD ATLAS OF
DESERTIFICATION
Third Edition
Mapping Land Degradation and
Sustainable Land Management
Opportunities
Introductory brochure
JRC97776
Introduction
Exponential increase in human population and
changes in consumption patterns have created
unprecedented pressure on the Earth’s natural
resources. These natural resources (land, water, air,
etc.), and the ecosystem goods and services derived
from them, support the livelihoods of all humans. It
is the responsibility of all to manage these resources
so that the present generation can fulfil their
needs without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet theirs.
In a rapidly changing world this is an enormous challenge
because a multitude of global drivers - including
demographic pressures, globalised economies, intensified
agriculture, overharvesting of natural products, and
climate change - are interacting simultaneously. When
this leads to land degradation it poses serious threats
to nutrition and food security, water resources, clean air,
cultural values, and economic development.
To properly address the complicated challenge of
land degradation, decision makers, environmental
managers and all interested stakeholders need
reliable and understandable information.
The third edition of the World Atlas of Desertification
(WAD) builds on state-of-the-art scientific concepts on
land degradation. Given the complexity underlying land
degradation, it is not amenable to single global maps that
can satisfy all views or needs. Rather, this WAD presents
a number of global datasets to identify important, ongoing biophysical and socio-economic processes that, on
their own or combined, can lead to unsustainable land
use and land degradation. This brochure provides a short
overview of these issues. It also provides some examples
that reflect global patterns of land degradation to
highlight and extract practical principles and methods for
developing solutions.
Authors:
WHEN RESOURCES ARE DEGRADED,
WE START COMPETING FOR THEM.
[...] SO ONE WAY TO PROMOTE PEACE
IS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT AND EQUITABLE
DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES.
WANGARI MAATHAI
Michael Cherlet
James Reynolds Chuck Hutchinson
Joachim Hill
Graham von Maltitz
Stefan Sommer
Ajai
Rasmus Fensholt
Stephanie Horion
Gemma Shepherd
Melanie Weynants
Hrvoje Kutnjak
Marek Smid
WAD Coordinator, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Italy
Duke University, USA; Lanzhou University, China
University of Arizona, USA
Trier University, Germany
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa
European Commission Joint Research Centre, Italy
Space Applications Centre, India
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
UNEP, Kenya
Other principal WAD contributing authors:
Elena María Abraham
Hedi Hamrouni Eva Ivits
Patrik Klintenberg
Alejandro Leon
Jose Roberto de Lima
Hanspeter Liniger Christopher Martius
Cheikh Mbow
Uriel Safriel
Mary Seely
Richard Thomas
Jürgen Vogt
Erian Wadid
Wang Guosheng
Wang Tao
Pandi Zdruli
Claudio Zucca
IADIZA, Argentina
Ministry of Agriculture, Tunisia
European Environment Agency, Denmark
Mälardalen University, Sweden
University of Chile, Chile
Céara, Brazil
WOCAT, Switzerland
University of Bonn, Germany
World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
DRFM, Namibia
ICARDA, Jordan
ACSAD, Jordan
Academy of Forest Inventory and Planning, China
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
ICARDA, Jordan and University of Sassari, Italy
Pier Lorenzo Marasco
Front cover design
In collaboration with:
World Atlas of Desertification Introductory brochure | World Atlas of Desertification
1
Human Dominance
HUMANS DRIVE GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE.
More than 75% of the land
is used by humans (excluding
Greenland and Antarctica) [10] .
High
Nighttime lights increase between
2000 and 2010 (NASA)
Low
High
Gridded population of the world
in 2010 (CIESIN)
Observing patterns and trends in nightlight densities from space [8] is a simple,
yet powerful, way of showing trends in human population density [9] . Although this
under-represents rural poor - people who do not have lights - it illustrates that the
human footprint on the globe is ubiquitous.
Humans dominate the planet and their
influence extends to every part of the
world. Global population has reached
seven billion people and is projected
to reach 8.3 billion by 2030 [1] . This
is expected to create unprecedented
pressure on the Earth’’s natural
resources [2] . The term anthropocene
has been introduced to describe the
current era in which human actions
have become the main driver of
global environmental change [3] .
Acknowledging this, new approaches
such as “anthropogenic biome” mapping
depict global patterns of land use based
on sustained, direct human interactions
with ecosystems [4] .
2
There is enormous pressure on global
land resources due to rising food
demand, a global shift in dietary habits,
biofuel production and urbanisation [2,5] .
Landfills, mining and other extraction
activities also contribute to the pressure
on land resources. Hence, productive
land is becoming scarce.
The rural poor often are forced to
overexploit available land via lowinput and low yield agriculture,
deforestation, and overgrazing, all of
which contribute to land degradation [6] .
The consequences of degraded land
are disproportionately borne by the
poor, are a principal factor contributing
to poverty, and remain a barrier to be
tackled for achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals set by the United
Nations [7] .
This WAD examines and illustrates
examples of:
1. human-environment interactions
globally, but with a focus on
drylands;
2. underlying causes and consequences
of land degradation; and
3. potentials and limitations of efforts
to combat desertification.
2007 was the first year in human history when
most people on Earth live in cities. [11, 12]
Total
POPULATION (billions)
Low
7.5
Urban
5.0
Rural
2.5
1950
1975
2000
2025
2050
year
World Atlas of Desertification | World Atlas of Desertification Introductory brochure
3
Feeding a growing global population
4 times more land and 10 times more water is needed to
produce 1 kg of protein from beef than from pulses [21,22]
Over the last 20 years the extent of land area harvested has increased by 16%, the area under irrigation has doubled,
and agricultural production has grown nearly three-fold [7] . Yet, close to one billion people remain undernourished [13] .
EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF
AGRICULTURE INCREASE PRESSURES ON LAND.
In large parts of Africa, South America and Asia, agricultural yields are well below
their maximum potential. The difference between actual agricultural productivity
and its potential productivity is called the “yield gap.” Yield gaps can be mapped
at global scales [14] and highlight those areas where agriculture production has
reached its maximum (intensive agriculture in industrialised countries) and where
it is low (rural areas on marginal lands where there is limited access to seed,
fertiliser and technology). Over large parts of Africa, fields are expanded into
rangeland to compensate for low productivity and poor management practices.
Closing yield gaps usually entails inputs of nutrients and water, both of which
have serious environmental consequences. Introducing improved management
practices including contouring, terracing and techniques for soil management can
improve yields without the negative impacts.
100%
High
1%
Agriculture consumes 70% of water withdrawals [18] and this could double by 2050 [19] ;
Between 1961 and 2006, area under irrigation more than doubled, with 37% of it relying on groundwater [7] .
Low
Fraction of total cropland used for growing food. 62% of total crop
production is allocated to human food, 35% for animal feed [2] .
Trends in the last 20 years:
+16.1 %
As the world’s economy grows – however unevenly – there is a corresponding increase in the demand for animal
protein, especially in developing countries. Expansion of livestock production is a key factor in deforestation. In recent
years, global livestock production is shifting, mainly from rural to urban areas, to get closer to consumers, sources of
feedstuff and transport and trade hubs [15] . Although this intensification of the livestock sector to feedlots is predicted
to meet the demand for meat and dairy products for developing countries by 2030 [16] , more agriculture land is used
intensively to indirectly produce food.
The WAD documents these global trends in agricultural land use and maps where some of them occur and coincide
with other drivers to potentially increase land degradation.
+42.1 %
HARVESTED CROPLAND AREA
+19.1 %
+12.4 %
POULTRY
SHEEP AND GOATS
Excess
CATTLE AND BUFFALOES
1993
2003
year
2013
As the income of the global population rises, meat
consumption increases. The demand for fodder drives
expansion or intensification of agriculture [17] .
4
Deficit
Nitrogen balance: in 24% of the world cropland area, 60% of applied nitrogen is
in excess, which can provoke water pollution [20] .
5
Aridity and drought patterns
cause increasing pressure on
land and water resources.
Limits to sustainability
QUANTIFYING GLOBAL LAND
RESOURCE EXPLOITATION.
Unsustainable human activities put land at risk. In
Europe alone, inappropriate land management practices
account for an estimated 970 million tons of soil loss
due to erosion each year [23] . Worldwide, the annual loss
of soil is estimated at 24 billion tonnes [24] .
If we wish to arrest or reverse the decline of our natural
resource base, we must first understand and monitor the
land status as well as understand the various processes
of land degradation so as to know the extent of the
problem and prospects for remediation.
Satellite observations suggest that globally between
2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometres of
forest were lost, while only 0.8 million kilometres
were reforested [25] . Loss of forest affects biodiversity,
nutrient, carbon and water cycles and climate. Whilst
some forest is converted into sustainable cropland, much
of the cleared forest remains in a degraded state.
This will allow us to establish “planetary boundaries” the limits of the biophysical envelope that sustains life
on Earth [26] . By understanding the thresholds within
which human actions can be maintained we can avoid
severe or catastrophic disruption in the future.
ARIDITY AND DROUGHT.
By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions with
absolute water scarcity [27] . More than half the world’s
people already live in countries where aquifers are being
depleted [28,29] .
Globally, arid areas increased between 1951–1980
and 1981–2010, many of them coinciding with land
degradation problems [30] .
Drought is one of the most relevant natural disasters
and can aggravate the land degradation processes.
Between 1951 and 2010 a small increase in global
drought frequency, duration, and severity has been
observed, especially over Africa, but drought frequency
decreased in the Northern Hemisphere [31] .
Wetter
Drier
Tree cover
Changes in Aridity Index: NE Brazil, S Argentina, the Sahel, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Mediterranean
area, NE China and Sub-Himalayan India have been identified as areas with a significant increase of
dryland extent, while on average these decreased in the Americas [30] .
Forest
Loss
+
Gain
>80%
0%
New possibilities for detailed systematic mapping at global scale of forest cover depict
a globally consistent and locally relevant record of forest change. A clear trend can be
observed in the tropics with forest loss increasing by 2101 square kilometres per year [25] .
Genetic
diversity
Biosphere integrity
Functional
diversity
?
Climate change
Novel entities
?
Stratospheric
ozone depletion
Land-system
change
?
Atmospheric
aerosol loading
Freshwater use
Phosphorus
Biochemical flows
6
Nitrogen
Ocean acidification
Beyond zone of uncertainty (high risk)
Below boundary (safe)
In zone of uncertainty (increasing risk)
Boundary not yet quantified
Planetary boundaries quantify the
risk that human perturbations will
destabilise the Earth System at
planetary scale [26] .
More
Less
Trend of frequency of drought events during 1951-2010 [31] .
7
Converging evidence
A growing global population has led to an increase in the
demand for food, fibre and fuel. This has a significant
impact on limited land resources, which often leads
to land degradation. However, at any given place on
Earth, complex human-environment interactions are at
play, which include differing rates and magnitudes of
drivers (e.g., overgrazing, climate change, agricultural
LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION
FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
EXPANSION.
HIGH POPULATION DENSITY AND
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
CHALLENGES LIMITS TO SUSTAINABILITY.
practices) and consequences (e.g., soil erosion, changes
in productivity, loss of biodiversity) [32,33] ; hence, land
degradation is not a phenomenon that can be modelled
at a global scale. To acknowledge and accommodate
these complex local interactions and dynamics, the new
World Atlas of Desertification relies on a “convergence of
evidence” in global datasets.
MORE LAND AND MORE INTENSIVE
AGRICULTURE TO ADDRESS DEMAND
FOR FODDER, FUEL AND FIBRE.
Decreasing
Increasing
DRIER CONDITIONS PREVAILING IN
THE LAST 30 YEARS.
UNSUSTAINABLE WATER USE FOR
AGRICULTURE EXPANSION AND
INTENSIFICATION.
EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE TO
THE DETRIMENT OF FOREST.
HIGH POPULATION PRESSURE IN
LOW RESILIENCE AREAS.
8
YIELD GAPS AND RESOURCE
EXHAUSTION DUE TO NUTRIENT
DEFICIT.
Land productivity is an essential concept for monitoring
land degradation. Various approaches to map land
productivity provide consistent and repeatable views
regarding what areas of concern or improvement to
highlight. The map shown here is based on 15 years of
satellite observations at ten-day intervals [34,35] . While
not an absolute measure of land productivity, it depicts
long-term seasonal dynamics and departures that
may relate to productivity change. The “convergence of
evidence” in regional productivity trends illustrated here as well as in other global data sets - provides insights for
further examination of more local data to understand the
underlying causes and consequences of observed trends [36] .
9
FI
ANDORRA
IRELAND
UNSUSTAINABLE WATER USE FOR AGRICULTURE
EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION.
CZECH REP.
SLOVAKIA
AUSTRIA
LIECH.
SWITZERLAND
VE
SLO
NI
SAN
MARINO
MONACO
VATICAN
CITY
S PA I N
BULGARIA
15° N
GEORGIA
MACEDONIA
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
(F.Y.R.O.M)
BELIZE
SYRIA
CYPRUS
LEBANON
I R A N
IRAQ
ISRAEL
0°
R
SIERRA LEONE
30°
GUYANA
CÔTE
D'IVOIRE
GHANA
LIBERIA
COLOMBIA
SÃO TOMÉ
AND PRÍNCIPE
1987
BAHRAIN
EGYPT
SAUDI
ARABIA
MAURITANIA
MYANMAR
(BURMA)
OMAN
CAPE
VERDE
MALI
NIGER
SENEGAL
THE GAMBIA
GUINEABISSAU
CHAD
GHANA
LIBERIA
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
MALDIVES
CAMEROON
GABON
UGANDA
CO
NG
O
SÃO TOMÉ
AND PRÍNCIPE
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
SOMALIA
23°30'
Tropic of Capricorn
K ENYA
BRUNEI
M A L A Y S I A
TANZANIA
30°
SEYCHELLES
COMOROS
From 1980 onward, the privatisation ofI Nfarmland
D O N E S I A coupled
with the introduction of state incentives has increased
productivity, largely driven by groundwater
irrigation and
POLITICAL
POLITICAL
fertiliser use. Together with the legal implementation
of access regulations and restrictions, the expansion
of cropland into environmentally sensitive rangelands
A U Swere
TRALIA
was slowed, and moving dunes and sand sheets
partially stabilised. These positive actions, however, were
accompanied by a rapid depletion of groundwater resources
and today most of the lakes and wetlands have disappeared.
800 km
SRI LANKA
M A L A Y S I A
SOMALIA
K E N YA
RWANDA
I N
BURUNDI
2013
SEYCHELLES
COMOROS
ZAMBIA
ANGOLA
MALAWI
MADAGASCAR
MOZAMBIQUE
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA
PARAGUAY
MAURITIUS
BOTSWANA
SWAZILAND
KIRIBATI
Equator
0°
LESOTHO
NAURU
SOUTH AFRICA
URUGUAY
ARGENTINA TUVALU
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
CHILE
SOLOMON
ISLANDS
400
0
0º
0
200
400 miles
15º
MADAGASCAR
15° S
ALAND
800 km
NEW ZE
75º
0 0
200
Toronto
Cit
y
İstanbul
Mumbai
Birmingham
İstanbul
Vigo
over 20m
International boundary
10-20m
5-10m
over 20m
1-5m
State boundary
45°
Tropic of Capricorn
23°30'
Major
railway
State boundary
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
Highest peak in continent
Major
railway
Highest
peak in country
Other
peak
Highest
peak in continent
7599m
* National capital (not recognised by the United Nations)
National capitals are shown in CAPS.
by or belonging to ( )
30°
Depth figure
Highest
peak in country
International
Other
peak Date Line
(U.S.A.) Administered
7599m
Depth figure
International Date Line
© 1996. Revised 2015 • Maps International
February 1998: situation before SLM measures.
(Landsat imagery, USGS)
Maps International product distributed in:
Australasia by Hema Maps – www.hemamaps.com
Maps
International
product
in:
Europe
by Craenen
BVBA,distributed
Belgium – www.craenen.be
Australasia
by Hema
Maps
– www.hemamaps.com
North
America
by Round
World
Products – www.roundworldproducts.com
Europe by Craenen BVBA, Belgium – www.craenen.be
North America by Round World Products – www.roundworldproducts.com
©
1996. Revised
2015 •by
Maps
International
Designed
and produced
Lovell
Johns Limited, Oxford, United Kingdom.
A full range of world and continental wallmaps are also available.
Designed
anddata
produced
by by
Lovell
Oxford, Data
UnitedCentre.
Kingdom.
Bathymetry
supplied
The Johns
BritishLimited,
Oceanographic
Bathymetry data supplied by The British Oceanographic Data Centre.
Governmental decisions have thus triggered trade-offs
between essential ecosystem services, primarily by
optimising crop production at the cost of groundwater
recharge capacities. Using high resolution satellite imagery
the dynamics in trade-offs can be quantified [38,39] and this
information used for better decision making.
2013
FIJI
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
International
boundary
10-20m
250,000 - 1,000,000
Toronto
5-10m - 250,000
Cork
100,000
Birmingham
1-5m
Tromsø
Less than 100,000
Vigo
250,000 - 1,000,000
National
in CAPS.
Corkcapitals are shown
100,000
- 250,000
(U.S.A.)
Administered by or Less
belonging
to ( )
Tromsø
than 100,000
LESOTHO
400 miles
MODIFIED VAN DER GRINTEN PROJECTION
Mumbai
SWAZILAND
VAN DER GRINTEN PROJECTION
400
Cit
y
BOTSWANA
60º
St
at
at
e
e
Ca or D Ca or D
pit ep pit ep
al . C al . C
ap
ap
ita
In
In ital
l
ha
ha
bit
bit
an
an
ts
ts
MAURITIUS
40º
St
ZIMBABWE
SOUTH AFRICA
VANUATU
30º
February 2013: situation after SLM measures; expansion of
agriculture is visible as green areas. (Landsat imagery, USGS)
NEW ZEALAN
D
cle
ic Cir
Antarct
165° E
60°
180°
165° E
165° W
150°
180°
165° W
rctic
30°
15° W
0°
0°
15° E
15° E
30°
30°
45°
45°
60°
60°
75°
75°
135°
120°
90°
90°
105°
105°
120°
Circle
120°
135°
135°
Pr
1
Forest
Production
0.8
ng
0.6
0.4
0.2
Carbon
Sequestration
Habitat and
Biodiversity
Preservation
0
Rangeland
Production
Dune
Fixation
Groundwater
Recharge
Sup
10
on i
g
isi
Regul at i n
ov
Climate and
Air Regulation
ti
por
ng
90°
rctic
45°
60°
45°
60°
75°
30°
45°
15° W
30°
0°
15° E
30°
45°
60°
Evidence of new surface water bodies, many by small dam
construction, in support of agriculture expansion. Black: water
bodies; green: new water bodies (water occurrence, JRC/GEE).
15° W
0°
15° E
In many parts of India, sustainable land management
practices have been implemented as part of watershed
development programs to combat land degradation,
desertification and drought. Such practices aim to
conserve and improve land and water resources for
agriculture expansion. About 60% of the land area of
India is used for agriculture, of which 35% is under
irrigation [40] . Responding to the need of water and
increased food production, soil and water conservation
measures have been successfully implemented in the
Jhabua and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh (central
India) during the last two decades. From 1998 to 2013,
cropped area has increased by 15%. Such agriculture
expansion has been made maintainable by construction
of rainwater harvesting structures, such as check dams
and small stop dams (nala bunds), in addition to soil
conservation practices. The number of surface water
bodies increased by 23%, from 210 in 1998 to 270 in
2013. These water bodies support the increased use of
water for irrigation and domestic purposes as well as
recharging of groundwater.
165° W
180°
180°
GAMBIA, THE
Agricultural
Production
75°
30°
45°
60°
75°
75°
90°
90°
105°
105°
120°
Circle
120°
135°
135°
60°
165° E
150°
105°
165° E
150°
90°
1985
2005
165° W
WM005
45°
15° W
150°
Anta
105°
WM002
WM401
WM001
WM005
30°
120°
Land use change between 1987 and 2013. Water bodies in dark blue give
way to agriculture in red (Landsat imagery (USGS) processed by Hill J. et
al.). Smallholder irrigation systems are increasingly replaced by large-scale
pivot irrigation schemes for producing fodder. This tends to lower the water
table and to reduce the area accessible for grazing. The sustainability of the
current land use concepts should therefore be questioned.
Anta
45°
135°
BRUN
SINGAPORE
TANZANIA
BRAZIL
EQUATORIAL SCALE 1: 20
30 000 000
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
VIETNAM
THAILAND
EQUATORIAL SCALE 1: 33 125 000
MALAWI
ZAMBIA
LAOS
I N D I A
YEMEN
MALDIVES
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
BOLIVIA
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
EAST
TIMOR
ANGOLA
MYANMAR
(BURMA)
OMAN
PALAU
HE
E W
WO
OR
R LL D
D
TT H
BURUNDI
GABON
15° N
SINGAPORE
RWANDA
UNITED
ARAB
EMIRATES
ETHIOPIA
UGANDA
23°30'
SRI LANKA
FIJI
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
CAMBODIA
TONGA
ETHIOPIA
SOUTH
SUDAN
PERU
PHILIPPINES
BANGLADESH
QATAR
CAMBODIA
SOUTH
SUDAN
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
1998
LAOS
THAILAND
15° S
BENIN
TOG O
CÔTE
D'IVOIRE
SAMOA
DJIBOUTI
NIGERIA
Introducing
agriculture in marginal lands that have
I N D I A
traditionally been used for grazing sheep and cattle has
caused erodable soil surfaces that easily become mobilised
by wind, a process known as “Sandification“ in large areas
of Northern China [37] .
VIETNAM
YEMEN
ERITREA
SUDAN
BURKINA
FASO
GUINEA
SIERRA LEONE
KIRIBATI
UNITED
ARAB
EMIRATES
Tropic of Cancer
BANGLADESH
QATAR
NEPAL
BHUTAN
SAUDI
ARABIA
CAMEROON
BHUTAN
L I BYA
ALGERIA
A
DJIBOUTI
NIGERIA
SURINAME
ECUADOR
PAKISTAN
ERITREA
SUDAN
Rainwater harvesting in Central India.
PANAMA
NEPAL
CHAD
BURKINA
FASO
GUINEA
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
VENEZUELA
PAKISTAN
Equator
THE GAMBIA
GUINEABISSAU
ST VINCENT & THE
GRENADA
GRENADINES
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICA
NIGER
SENEGAL
ST LUCIA
BARBADOS
A
N
I
DO
LVA
EL SA
SOUT H
KORE A
MALI
DOMINICA
LA
AFGHANISTAN
JORDAN
KUWAIT
H
C
MALTA
TUNISIA
A
N
I
H
C
TAJIKISTAN
GUATEMA
EGYPT
N
A
BAHRAIN
CAPE
VERDE
ST KITTS & NEVIS
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
JAMAICA
HONDURAS
BENIN
TOG O
Land use change in Northern China.
JAPAN
NORT H
KORE A
L I BYA
N
I
AFGHANISTAN
KUWAIT
MAURITANIA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
HAITI
KYRGYZSTAN
UZBEKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
TURKEY
GREECE
MOROCCO
CUBA
SERBIA
ALBANIA
PORTUGAL
N
ROMANIA
MONT.
KOS.
ITALY
ANDORRA
KAZAKHSTA
MOLDOVA
HUNGARY
CROATIA
BOSNIA &
HERZEGOVINA
H
I
H
C
TAJIKISTAN
JORDAN
ALGERIA
THE BAHAMAS
MEXICO
MONGOLIA
UKRAINE
A
FRANCE
LUX.
Tropic of Cancer
I R A N
IRAQ
ISRAEL
LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE EXPANSION.
BELARUS
23°30'
SYRIA
CYPRUS
LEBANON
45°
GERMANY
BELGIUM
TURKMENISTAN
C
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
RUSSIA
POLAND
STAN
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
TURKEY
30°
L AT V I A
LITHUANIA
NETHERLANDS
MACEDONIA
(F.Y.R.O.M)
GREECE
CO
NG
O
DENMARK
S PA I N
MALTA
ESTONIA
UNITED KINGDOM
VATICAN
CITY
ALBANIA
PORTUGAL
SWEDEN
Combination of high-resolution imagery,
spanning a 30-year period, with high computing
capability now allows for detailed and regular
surface water monitoring at global scale.
11
KIRIBATI
U N I T E D S TAT E S
TANZANIA
S PA I N
VATICAN
CITY
EAST
TIMOR
GEORGIA
PAPUA
ARMENIA
NEW GUINEA
(F.Y.R.O.M)
TURKMENISTAN
SYRIA
CYPRUS
LEBANON
I R A N
23°30'
TONGA
VANUATU
ZIMBABWE
MAURITIUS
MEXICO
NAMIBIA
PARAGUAY
BOTSWANA
SWAZILAND
EL
OR
VAD
SAL
LESOTHO
HE
E W
WO
OR
R LL D
D
TT H
POLITICAL
Example of the Dry Chaco: change POLITICAL
in land
use and land cover driven by globalisation [41] .
ARGENTINA
30°
URUGUAY
0°
CHILE
0
0º
0
200
15º
400
200
Mumbai
Birmingham
İstanbul
Vigo
10-20m
5-10m
over 20m
1-5m
State boundary
©
1996. Revised
2015 •by
Maps
International
Designed
and produced
Lovell
Designed
anddata
produced
by by
Lovell
Oxford, Data
UnitedCentre.
Kingdom.
Bathymetry
supplied
The Johns
BritishLimited,
Oceanographic
165° E
180°
165° W
150°
60°
165° E
180°
165° W
150°
ANGOLA
NAMIBIA
MAURITIUS
BOTSWANA
D
POLITICAL
400
0º
0
200
400 miles
40º
LAND
800 km
NEW ZEA
International
Other
peak Date Line
60º
75º
0 0
400
200
400 miles
Depth figure
Mumbai
İstanbul
over 20m
10-20m
5-10m
over 20m
Birmingham
1-5m
İstanbul
10-20m
Vigo
250,000 - 1,000,000
Toronto
5-10m - 250,000
Cork
100,000
Birmingham
1-5m
Tromsø
Less than 100,000
Vigo
250,000 - 1,000,000
National
in CAPS.
100,000
- 250,000
(U.S.A.)
belonging
to ( )
Tromsø
than 100,000
Monitoring is essential to identify biophysical, social,
political and economic drivers of changes and to develop
land use planning and management policies to mitigate
or reverse them.
0
30º
Toronto
Mumbai
Maps
International
product
in:
Europe
by Craenen
BVBA,distributed
Australasia
by Hema
Maps
North
America
by Round
World
45°
State boundary
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
International
boundary
Major
railway
State boundary
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
Major
railway
Highest
peak in country
Other
peak
Highest
peak in continent
7599m
Depth figure
Highest
peak in country
International
Other
peak Date Line
7599m
Depth figure
Maps
International
product
in:
Europe
by Craenen
BVBA,distributed
Australasia
by Hema
Maps
North
America
by Round
World
©
1996. Revised
2015 •by
Maps
International
Designed
and produced
Lovell
Designed
anddata
produced
by by
Lovell
Oxford, Data
UnitedCentre.
Kingdom.
Bathymetry
supplied
The Johns
BritishLimited,
Oceanographic
cle
ic Cir
Antarct
NEW ZEALAN
URUGUAY
ARGENTINA
CHILE
15º
Depth figure
Highest
peak in country
120°
135°
MADAGASCAR
MOZAMBIQUE
ZIMBABWE
BRAZIL
30 000 000
Large-scale conversion of Dry Chaco forests to annual
crops and pasture affects climate changes, alters
regional ecosystem functioning, and may lead to
unanticipated social problems and increased degradation
of the land resource [43] .
135°
SEYCHELLES
COMOROS
MALAWI
ZAMBIA
800 km
Other
peak
Highest
peak in continent
7599m
BURUNDI
SOUTH AFRICA
HE
E W
WO
OR
R LL D
D
TT H
POLITICAL
30°
Major
railway
Highest
peak in country
7599m
SOMALIA
KENYA
RWANDA
SWAZILAND
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
MALDIVES
UGANDA
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
Tropic of Capricorn
Major
railway
State boundary
The South American Dry Chaco is a vast semiarid
plain spreading over Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.
However, the native vegetation, particularly dry forests,
is undergoing one of the highest deforestation rates in
the world. This transformation is due to rapid agricultural
expansion and intensification, especially crop production
(soy, maize) and cattle ranching. Opportunities created
by socioeconomic globalisation, including increase in
global demands for feedstuff and attractive economical
returns are driving and accelerating these changes.
These land transformations have resulted in significant
losses of biodiversity, fragmentation of the landscape,
and a reduction of essential ecosystem services [42] .
GABON
LESOTHO
Disputed/Undefined
boundary
International
boundary
10-20m
250,000 - 1,000,000
Toronto
5-10m - 250,000
Cork
100,000
Birmingham
1-5m
Tromsø
Less than 100,000
Vigo
250,000 - 1,000,000
National
in CAPS.
100,000
- 250,000
(U.S.A.)
belonging
to ( )
Tromsø
than 100,000
45°
23°30'
over 20m
Cit
y
Cit
y
Toronto
Cit
y
İstanbul
St
Mumbai
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
PARAGUAY
400 miles
ETHIOPIA
SOUTH
SUDAN
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
BOLIVIA
Sta
te
te
Ca or D Ca or D
pit ep pit ep
al . C al . C
ap
ap
ita
In
In ital
l
ha
ha
bit
bit
an
an
ts
ts
800 km
Trop
TANZANIA
FIJI
I
YEMEN
DJIBOUTI
NIGERIA
SÃO TOMÉ
AND PRÍNCIPE
TONGA
60º
Cit
y
D
St
at
at
e
e
Ca or D Ca or D
pit ep pit ep
al . C al . C
ap
ap
ita
In
In ital
l
ha
ha
bit
bit
an
an
ts
ts
40º
UNITED
ARAB
EMIRATES
CAMEROON
COLOMBIA
15° S
30º
ALAN
NEW ZE
GHANA
SAMOA
30 000 000
75º
0 0
AUSTRALIA
CÔTE
D'IVOIRE
LIBERIA
SURINAME
The Sahel: a transition zone between the
Sahara desert and the tropics.
400 miles
QATAR
ERITREA
SUDAN
PERU
Sta
400
GUYANA
CHAD
BURKINA
FASO
GUINEA
SIERRA LEONE
VENEZUELA
ECUADOR
Equator
THE GAMBIA
GUINEABISSAU
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
PANAMA
NIGER
SENEGAL
KIRIBATI
800 km
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICA
SAUDI
ARABIA
OMAN
MALI
DOMINICA
SOUTH AFRICA
EGYPT
CAPE
VERDE
ST KITTS & NEVIS
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
ST LUCIA
BARBADOS
ST VINCENT & THE
GRENADA
GRENADINES
PAKISTAN
BAHRAIN
MAURITANIA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
HAITI
JAMAICA
HONDURAS
LA
GUATEMA
Tropic of Capricorn
CUBA
BELIZE
15° N
L I BYA
ALGERIA
THE BAHAMAS
BENIN
TOGO
AGRICULTURE EXPANDS, FORESTS RETREAT.
23°30'
KUWAIT
HIGH POPULATION PRESSURE IN
LOW RESILIENCE AREAS.
BRAZIL
FIJI
MOZAMBIQUE
Tropic of Cancer
AFGHANISTAN
IRAQ
ISRAEL
MADAGASCAR
CO
NG
O
BOLIVIA
SOLOMON
TAJIKISTAN
ISLANDS
MALTA
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
JORDAN
15° S
105°
120°
90°
105°
60°
75°
90°
75°
45°
60°
45°
Anta
rctic
30°
15° W
0°
15° E
30°
165° E
45°
180°
60°
165° W
75°
150°
90°
le
ic Circ
Antarct
135°
120°
105°
105°
90°
120°
Circle
60°
75°
135°
45°
15° W
0°
15° E
165° W
180°
165° E
150°
30°
30°
45°
60°
75°
165° E
30°
15° W
0°
15° E
30°
180°
45°
165° W
60°
150°
135°
75°
120°
90°
105°
105°
90°
75°
120°
60°
45°
135°
30°
15° W
150°
0°
15° E
30°
45°
60°
75°
90°
165° W
180°
165° E
GAMBIA, THE
Earth observation data suggest an overall increase in vegetation greenness
that can be confirmed by ground observations. However, it remains unclear
if the observed positive trends provide an environmental improvement
with positive effects on people's livelihood [36] . Long-term assessments
of biodiversity at finer scales highlight in some cases a negative trend in
species diversity [45] .
Between 1976 and 2012, 20% of the whole ecoregion has been
transformed, with exponentially growing annual transformation
rate in Paraguay. Areas coloured from red (transformed in 1976)
to yellow (transformed in 2013) show the extent and rapid pace of
transformation of Dry Chaco into crops or pastures.
The WAD illustrates and underlines the need to monitor land dynamics
by combining long-term information from Earth observation with in situ
observations to improve understanding of the site specific impact of
changes in land use and observed land cover trends.
1976
1986
TRANSFORMATION (year)
2000
2002
2003
2005
2006
2008
2009
2011
2012
2013
12
decreasing
NDVI
2007
2010
0
increasing
NDVI
2001
2004
100 km
90°
60°
In the past 50 years, an increase of sedentary human presence and
activities, together with climatic variability, has caused major environmental
changes in the semi-arid Sahelian zone. As a result the degradation of
arable lands has been a major concern for livelihoods and food security.
Despite decades of intensive research on human-environmental systems
in the Sahel, there is no overall consensus about the severity of land
degradation [44] .
1996
KYRGYZSTAN
UZBEKISTAN
AZERBAIJAN
TURKEY
GREECE
COMOROS
ZAMBIA
ANGOLA
BULGARIA
MACEDONIA
ALBANIA
MALAWI
30°
SAMOA
SERBIA
MONT.
KOS.
ITALY
ANDORRA
PORTUGAL
PERU
VE CROATIA
SLO
BOSNIA &
SAN
HERZEGOVINA
MARINO
MONACO
SEYCHELLES
Recent Earth Observation studies show a positive trend in rainfall and vegetation
index over the last decades for the majority of the Sahel - known as the regreening of the Sahel [46] . This has been interpreted as an increase in biomass
and contradicts prevailing narratives of widespread degradation caused by
human overuse and climate change. Yet, observable areas of decreasing
productivity, e.g. in Niger and Sudan, indicate that the re-greening process is not
uniform across the entire Sahel.
13
Solutions
The WAD Core Features
TOWARDS LAND
DEGRADATION NEUTRALITY.
Maintaining or improving the productive capacity of land
requires a move towards land degradation neutrality [47] .
This is a matter of preserving or enhancing the ability
of land resources to support ecosystem functions and
services. Sustainable management of soil, water and
biodiversity can help close yield gaps, increase the
resilience of land, and thus support the people who
depend on it for their livelihoods.
The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and
Technologies (WOCAT) is an example of an initiative
that promotes sustainable land management (SLM) and
knowledge sharing. This network of specialists facilitates
the reporting, dissemination and the implementation
of locally adapted SLM practices. WOCAT defines
four categories of measures to prevent, mitigate and
rehabilitate land degradation and restore ecosystem
services which can be combined on a same site to
achieve a comprehensive management.
National, regional and international initiatives to recover
degraded land are numerous and diverse. The Great
Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative is
an example of an international project. Its objective is to
increase the resilience of human and natural systems in
Sahel and Saharan areas faced with climate change. It
encourages innovative solutions to manage ecosystems
and to sustain natural resources. Emphasis is placed on
the protection of tangible and intangible rural heritage,
the development of rural production systems, and the
improvement of the living conditions and livelihoods of
people living in these areas.
The new World Atlas of Desertification highlights options
and possibilities for sustainable solutions to halt and
prevent land degradation.
The WAD considers land degradation and
desertification to be a persistent reduction or loss of
biological and economic productivity of land caused by
human activities, often accelerated by natural factors
like increasing aridity and climate change. Focus is
on land used by people whose livelihoods depend
on this productivity, yet the reduction or loss of this
productivity is driven by their use.
While the previous editions of the WAD started by
considering primarily the bio-physical boundary
conditions for land and soil degradation, the new WAD
puts the Human-Environment (H-E) interaction in the
centre of its analytical review of state and trends of
global land degradation and desertification.
The new WAD thus acknowledges that human societies
and their use of land are on one hand drivers of land
degradation and desertification, but also the key to
sustainable solutions of this global problem.
The WAD mapping does not strive for a single
land degradation index but builds on a systematic
framework of providing a convergence of evidence
of human-environment interactions for identifying
pathways of land degradation and restoration. This
approach of providing spatial information on land
degradation and restoration trends is consistent
with the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) progress indicator framework
and with the on-going debate for applying an
integrated landscape approach to implementing land
degradation neutrality.
Considering a reference period of approximately 15
to 20 years since the last Atlas and the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment, the WAD global mapping
approach is designed to identify areas affected
by persistent land degradation factors as well as
land areas that are showing signs of recuperating
their productive capacity. This is put in relation to
mapped information on the most commonly known
and documented underlying and proximate causes
of land degradation [48] but also to sustainable land
use practices such as agro-forestry and conservation
agriculture.
The basis for implementing the WAD mapping
framework has been facilitated by the increased
availability of current global and regional data sets
of bio-physical and socio-economic information.
These layers are frequently (but not exclusively)
compiled from spatial information provided by Earth
Observation satellites in combination with statistical
and field data. Despite this progress in developing
global monitoring data sets there are still substantial
gaps in the thematic coverage and continuity of
data collection systems. This calls for further, more
coordinated efforts for establishing systematic
monitoring under a specific land degradation topic of
existing political framework such as GEO-GEOSS.
WOCAT SLM measures: (1) agronomic measures to improve the soil
(mulching, manuring, conservation tillage); (2) vegetative measures
such as planting trees, shrubs or grasses; (3) structural measures
that change the land (terraces, dams, ditches); and (4) management
measures, including change of land use, intensity or timing.
Implementing the Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel.
14
15
References
1. UN DESA PD. World Population Prospects : The
2015 Revision, Key Findings and Advances (ESA/P/
WP.241). (2015).
2. Foley, J. a. et al. Solutions for a cultivated planet.
Nature 478, 337–342 (2011). doi: 10.1038/
nature10452
3. Crutzen, P. J. Geology of mankind. Nature 415, 23
(2002). doi: 10.1038/415023a
4. Ellis, E. C. & Ramankutty, N. Putting people in
the map: Anthropogenic biomes of the world.
Front. Ecol. Environ. 6, 439–447 (2008). doi:
10.1890/070062
5. Rulli, M. C., Saviori, A. & D’Odorico, P. Global land
and water grabbing. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 110,
892–897 (2013). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1213163110
6. Sustainable development - Knowledge platform.
at <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.
html>
7. FAO. The State of the World’s land and water
resources for Food and Agriculture, Managing
systems at risk. (2011). doi: 978-1-84971-326-9
8. NOAA. Version 4 DMSP-OLS Nighttime Lights
Time Series. at <http://ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/dmsp/
downloadV4composites.html>
9. Columbia University - Center for International Earth
Science Information Network (CIESIN). Gridded
Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4),
Preliminary Release 2 (2010). (2014). at <http://
www.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/gpw-v4>
10. SERI. LAND FOOTPRINT SCENARIOS A discussion
paper including a literature review and scenario
analysis on the land use related to changes in
Europe’s consumption patterns Report for Friends
of the Earth Europe. (eds. Giljum, S. & Kennerley, P.
R.) (2013).
11. UNEP. Global Environment Outlook GEO4. (UNEP,
2007). at <http://www.unep.org/geo/GEO4/report/
GEO-4_Report_Full_en.pdf>
12. UN DESA PD. World Urbanization Prospects: The
2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352).
(2014).
13. FAO, IFAD & WFP. The State of Food Insecurity in
the World 2015. Meeting the 2015 International
hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress.
(FAO, 2015).
14. Mueller, N. D. et al. Closing yield gaps through
nutrient and water management. Nature 490,
254–257 (2012). doi: 10.1038/nature11420
15. Steinfeld, H. et al. Livestock’s Long Shadow:
Environmental Issues and Options. (FAO, 2006).
16. Naylor, R. AGRICULTURE: Losing the Links Between
Livestock and Land. Science (80-. ). 310, 1621–
1622 (2005). doi: 10.1126/science.1117856
17. Lambin, E. F. & Meyfroidt, P. Global land use change,
economic globalization, and the looming land
scarcity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108, 3465–3472
(2011). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1100480108
18. UN Water. Water for food factsheet. (2013).
19. Earthscan & IWMI. Water for Food, Water for Life: A
Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management
in Agriculture. (ed. Molden, D.) (London: Earthscan,
and Colombo: IWMI, 2007).
20. West, P. C. et al. Leverage points for improving
global food security and the environment. Science
(80-. ). 345, 325–328 (2014). doi: 10.1126/
science.1246067
21. Mekonnen, M. M. & Hoekstra, A. Y. A Global
Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal
Products. Ecosystems 15, 401–415 (2012). doi:
10.1007/s10021-011-9517-8
22. Nijdam, D., Rood, T. & Westhoek, H. The price of
protein: Review of land use and carbon footprints
from life cycle assessments of animal food
products and their substitutes. Food Policy 37, 760–
770 (2012). doi: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.08.002
23. Panagos, P. et al. The new assessment of soil loss
by water erosion in Europe. Environ. Sci. Policy 54,
438–447 (2015). doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2015.08.012
24. UNCCD. Towards a land degradation neutral world:
Land and soil in the context of a green economy for
sustainable development, food security and poverty
eradication. (2011).
25. Hansen, M. C. et al. High-resolution global maps of
21st-century forest cover change. Science (80-. ).
342, 850–3 (2013). doi: 10.1126/science.1244693
26. Steffen, W. et al. Planetary boundaries: Guiding
human development on a changing planet. Science
(80-. ). 347, 1259855– (2015). doi: 10.1126/
science.1259855
27. UN Water. Water scarcity factsheet. (2013).
28. Brown, L. R. Full planet empty plates: The new
geopolitics of food scarcity. (Norton & Company,
Inc., 2012).
29. Famiglietti, J. S. The global groundwater crisis. Nat.
Clim. Chang. 4, 945–948 (2014). doi: 10.1038/
nclimate2425
30. Spinoni, J., Vogt, J., Naumann, G., Carrao, H.
& Barbosa, P. Towards identifying areas at
climatological risk of desertification using the
Köppen-Geiger classification and FAO aridity
index. Int. J. Climatol. 35, 2210–2222 (2015). doi:
10.1002/joc.4124
31. Spinoni, J., Naumann, G., Carrao, H., Barbosa, P. &
Vogt, J. World drought frequency, duration, and
severity for 1951-2010. Int. J. Climatol. 34, 2792–
2804 (2014). doi: 10.1002/joc.3875
32. Geist, H. The causes and progression of
desertification. (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005).
33. Global Desertification: Do Humans cause Deserts?
Dahlem Workshop Report 88 (eds. Reynolds, J. F. &
Stafford Smith, D. M.) (Dahlem Univ. Press, 2002).
34. Ivits, E., Cherlet, M., Mehl, W. & Sommer, S.
Ecosystem functional units characterized by
satellite observed phenology and productivity
gradients: A case study for Europe. Ecol. Indic. 27,
17–28 (2013). doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.11.010
35. Ivits, E., Cherlet, M., Sommer, S. & Mehl, W.
Addressing the complexity in non-linear evolution
of vegetation phenological change with time-series
of remote sensing images. Ecol. Indic. 26, 49–60
(2013). doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.10.012
36. Herrmann, S. M., Sall, I. & Sy, O. People and pixels in
the Sahel: a study linking coarse-resolution remote
sensing observations to land users’ perceptions of
their changing environment in Senegal. Ecol. Soc.
19, art29 (2014). doi: 10.5751/ES-06710-190329
37. State Forestry Administration. Atlas of Desertified
and Sandified Land in China. (2008).
38. Hill, J. et al. Integrating MODIS-EVI and gridded
rainfall/temperature fields for assessing land
degradation dynamics in Horqin sandy lands, Inner
Mongolia (China). in 30th EARSeL Symposium:
Remote Sensing for Science, Education and Culture,
31 May--3 June 2010, UNESCO, Paris, France
247–254 (2010).
39. Hill, J., Stellmes, M. & Wang, C. Land Use and Land
Cover Mapping in Europe. Land Use and Land Cover
Mapping in Europe (eds. Manakos, I. & Braun, M.) 18,
(2014). doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-7969-3
40. World Bank. Agricultural irrigated land. at <http://
data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.IRIG.AG.ZS/
countries>
41. Vallejos, M. et al. Dynamics of the natural cover
transformation in the Dry Chaco ecoregion: A
plot level geo- database from 1976 to 2012.
J. Arid Environ. 1–9 (2014). doi: 10.1016/j.
jaridenv.2014.11.009
42. REDAF. Monitoreo de deforestación en los bosques
nativos de la Región Chaqueña Argentina. Informe
No1 Bosque Nativo en Salta: Ley de Bosques,
análisis de deforestación y situación del Bosque
chaqueño en la provincia. (2013).
43. Grau, H., Gasparri, I. & Gasparri, M. in Valoración de
Servicios Ecosistémicos. Conceptos, herramientas y
aplicaciones para el ordenamiento territorial (eds.
Laterra, P., Jobbagy, E. & Paruelo, J.) (2011).
44. Rasmussen, K. et al. Environmental change in
the Sahel: reconciling contrasting evidence and
interpretations. Reg. Environ. Chang. (2015). doi:
10.1007/s10113-015-0778-1
45. Brandt, M. et al. Ground- and satellite-based
evidence of the biophysical mechanisms behind the
greening Sahel. Glob. Chang. Biol. 21, 1610–1620
(2015). doi: 10.1111/gcb.12807
46. Fensholt, R. et al. Assessing Land Degradation/
Recovery in the African Sahel from Long-Term
Earth Observation Based Primary Productivity and
Precipitation Relationships. Remote Sens. 5, 664–
686 (2013). doi: 10.3390/rs5020664
47. UNCCD. at <www.unccd.int>
48. Geist, H. J. & Lambin, E. F. Dynamic Causal Patterns
of Desertification. Bioscience 54, 817 (2004). doi:
10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0817:DCPOD]2.0.CO;2
© European Union, 2015
Reproduction authorised for the sole purpose of teaching or
scientific research, provided the source is acknowledged.
Published by the Publications Office of the European Union,
L-2995 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
Printed version:
ISBN: 978-92-79-52207-9
doi: 10.2788/928958
Catalogue number: LB-01-15-766-EN-C
WAD brochure photographs
Page 1 background. Arid soils in Mauritania.
Valérie Batselaere. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
oxfam/8655301546, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Page 2-3 background. Ben Dumond. https://images.unsplash.
com/photo-1428365742810-112d9c5257a4?q=80&fm=jp
g&s=9df7e5140820c83774cd9710cce244e7
Page 3. Ulrich Apel/GEF. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
thegef/8054458753/, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Page 4-5 background. K-Line irrigation System. Lori
Iverson / USFWS. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
usfwsmtnprairie/8138741505, CC BY 2.0
Page 4. Silage Harvesting - Pickup Time - Clonard, Co. Meath
Ireland - May 2012. Peter Mooney. https://www.flickr.com/
photos/peterm7/7275128182, CC BY-SA 2.0
Page 4. Agriculture in Kyrgyz Republic. Vyacheslav
Oseledko/ADB. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
asiandevelopmentbank/8428409991, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Page 5. Dust man. Bryan Pearson. https://www.flickr.com/
photos/bryanpearson/2539154708/, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
16
Page 6-7 background. Sediments in Rio de la Plata in E-W
view. ©NASA. eol.jsc.nasa.gov (17/03/2003)
Page 10 background. Sandification in Horqin Sandy Lands,
Inner Mongolia, China. © Joachim Hill
Page 10. Woman and child, Horqin Sandy Lands, Inner
Mongolia, China © Joachim Hill
Page 11. Dam near Dai ka Mahal. Varun Shiv Kapur. https://
www.flickr.com/photos/varunshiv/3925961352. CC BY 2.0
Page 12 background. "Desmonte" entre Saenz Peña e
Castelli. Valerio Pillar. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
vpillar/85080626. CC BY-SA 2.0
Page 13 background. Kite aerial photograph in Fakara region,
Niger. © Bruno Gérard and Philippe Delfosse/ICRISAT
Page 14 top. Landscape in the southern Xayabury (Laos) ©
European Commission/Pierre Girard/CIRAD. http://ec.europa.
eu/europeaid/multimedia/photos/library/repository/final/
img1915.jpg
Page 14 drawings. Categories of measures for sustainable
land management. © Hanspeter Liniger/WOCAT
Page 14 diagram photograph 1. No-till of maize – Kenthao.
© Florence Tivet/European Commission. http://ec.europa.
eu/europeaid/multimedia/photos/library/repository/final/
img1912.jpg
Page 14 diagram photograph 2. Fighting desertification,
Illapel, Chile. © European Commission
Page 14 diagram photograph 3. Aerial view of the
landscape around Halimun Salak National Park, West Java,
Indonesia. Kate Evans/CIFOR. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
cifor/10814748485, CC BY-NC 2.0
Page 14 diagram photograph 4. Panoramic view of
farmer's field under conservation agriculture in Malawi.
T. Samson/CIMMYT. https://www.flickr.com/photos/
cimmyt/7290578268, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Page 14 bottom. Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel
Initiative. © Giulio Napolitano/FAO
Page 15 Goats in the Sahel. © Stéphanie Horion
Page 17. Aerial view in Madagascar. © G. Barton/European
Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/
photos/library/repository/final/img3508.jpg
Online version:
ISBN: 978-92-79-52206-2
doi:10.2788/21872
Catalogue number: LB-01-15-766-EN-N
JRC registration number: JRC97776
2015 – 16 pp. – 21,0 x 29,7 cm
Printed in Italy.
WAD portal:
http://wad.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Introductory brochure - World Atlas of Desertification

Transcription

Similar documents

ATLAS ATLAS REFRIGERANT CHARGING SCALE

Tree Certificate - Tree

Welcome to Hindeloopen

Desertification

Na Leo Newsletter- April 30 2016

Transhield

PDF (Author`s version) - OATAO (Open Archive Toulouse Archive

Na Leo O` Atlas - Atlas Insurance

Na Leo O` Atlas - Atlas Insurance

Desertification: Its Effects on People and Land

farming the desert: the science behind desertification