Desertification is a global phenomenon, affecting all continents, engendering cross-boundary and transcontinental
migrations, and forcing people in vulnerable areas that have been] marginalized by poverty and ecological degradation, to look for better living opportunities in cities, other regions, or other countries, where further strains on the natural and social environments are apt to occur.

We must face the issues confronting the people who inhabit affected arid lands. The General Assembly of the United Nations called for an International Conference on Population and Development [Res. 47/176, 22 Dec. '92]. The Preparatory Committee of" the Conference has identified 'population distribution and migrations' amongst its priority issues.

Migration is, of course, a natural phenomenon in human history. The concern of the Symposium is that forced migrations resulting from arid-land degradation, and their consequences, often attain undesirable dimensions, both at the poles of origin and at the sites of relocation. The number of migrants in the world, already at very high levels, nonetheless continues to increase by about 3 millions each year. Approximately half of these originate in Africa. These increases are largely of rural origin and related to land degradation. It is estimated that over 135 million people may be at risk of being displaced as a
consequence of severe desertification.