The earth’s soil is disappearing at an alarming rate. A thin layer of soil takes centuries to develop but can be blown or washed away in a few seasons.
Desertification is a major concern because of the link between dryland degradation and a decline in food production.

• This Resource explores the definition of desertification; where it occurs; the causes, consequences and solutions and what we ourselves can do to alleviate some of the consequences.
• It revisits the Convention to Combat Desertification and how it interlinks with the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and with the Convention on Biological Diversity – all three Conventions were born out of the 1992 Earth Summit.
• It concentrates mainly on the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa with some brief illustrations from other areas.
• The resource pack has been written for Geography teachers and both their Leaving and Junior Certificate Students.
• It includes student Worksheets and answers.
• It aims to complement the units on Geo-Ecology; Global Interdependence; The Dynamics of
Population; and Patterns and Processes in the Physical Environment (II) External Forces.
• For the Junior Certificate Curriculum the resource is very relevant to: Primary Economic Activity;
Economic Inequality; Climate and Natural Resources; Population Distribution, Diversity and
Change and the Mali story.

Objectives
• To raise awareness of the problem of desertification.
• To show how desertification is a major impediment to the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals.
• To provide teachers with a solid educational foundation on the theme of desertification.
• To encourage teachers and students to act locally to combat desertification.
• To demonstrate that desertification, although a serious problem, can be tackled

About Ubuntu Network:The Ubuntu Network actively promotes that Development Education be embedded into post-primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Ireland - thier goal is to support teacher educators and student teachers to engage with local and global development issues, to see how they are relevant to their subject areas and disciplines, and to understand the value that such perspectives bring to teaching.