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Soil erosion is the main reason why desertification is irreversible. Vegetation can regenerate from a degraded state as long as the seed stock remains viable and there is soil for seeds to germinate and grow in. Water and wind are the two main mechanisms by which soil is eroded and transported. Of the two, water has proven experimentally to be the most important in causing soil…

When plans for two United Nations conferences on water and desertification were initiated ten years ago, the interconnection between the two was recognized. Accordingly, one of the resolutions of the UN Water Conference was aimed at the role of water in combating desertification. This article reviews water development and management for desertification on a global basis over the…

A highly controversial and debated question is the ultimate cause of desertification. Is it due more to man or to nature? This article addresses this important question and, by use of examples from the Dust Bowl of the USA in the 1930s, argues that drought does not necessarily cause desertification, but that the actions of mankind do. In the 1930s, in the absence of land management…

This article makes a detailed examination of progress in implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD) since its inception in 1977. It reveals many shortcomings in implementation of the PACD and points out that the rate of desertification is increasing in most parts of the developing world. While the technology to stop desertification is there, the missing…

Ten years ago the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) formally recognized an intricate process of land degradation that had been plaguing mankind for thousands of years. The term desertification was given to this process. In earlier times man adapted to desertification by moving to better places. This is rarely possible today and communities are more often forced to…

Food systems are one of the main contributors to environmental changes such as climate change, land use, and water and air pollution, accounting for about 19–29% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and having a substantial impact on most planetary boundaries that determine the safe operating space for humanity. At the same time, food systems are also heavily affected by…