Desertification is a particularly devastating form of environmental deterioration afflicting arid and semi-arid areas. Its causes have been analysed and various solutions have been advanced. This Report establishes that the struggle against desertification has failed to produce satisfactory results and attempts to identify the causes of this failure at both the national and international levels.

The accelerated process of desertification has reached a dimension that is largely surpassing the traditional approach to the problem . Desertification has become a natural and social disaster with many humanitarian aspects that require adequate attention and prompt action.