Sand encroachment and land
reclamation in China.
Left, 2000; right, 2004
planted with Xinjiang poplar
(Populus alba).
Credit: Yao Jianming
Sand encroachment and land
reclamation in China.
Left, 2000; right, 2004
planted with Xinjiang poplar
(Populus alba).
Credit: Yao Jianming
Sand encroachment and land reclamation in China. Top, 2000; Bottom, 2004 planted with Xinjiang poplar (Populus alba). Credit: Yao Jianming
When land degradation processes, acting lo-
DownloaD Graphic 2
cally, combine to affect large areas in drylands,
desertification occurs. Some 2 billion people
Total forest area by region
Source: GEO Data Portal,
depend on drylands, 90 per cent of them in
compiled from FAO 2005
11
developing countries. Six million km
2
of drylands
million km
2
1990
bear a legacy of land degradation. It is hard
10
2000
to deal with the problem, because of cyclical
9
2005
swings in rainfall, land tenure that is no longer
8
well adjusted to the environment, and because of
7
other driving forces.
6
The international response to desertification has 5
been led since 1994 by UN Convention to Com-
4
bat Desertification (UNCCD), which has been
3
ratified by 191 countries. 79 countries have
drawn up National action programmes, there are
2
9 sub-regional programmes targeting trans-bound- 1
ary issues and 3 regional thematic networks.
0
Africa Asia and the Europe Latin America North West Asia
Pacific and the America
Forests provide a range of valuable ecosystem
Caribbean
services, such as soil and water protection,
absorption of pollution, and climate regulation
through carbon fixation. Forest ecosystems are
also a great source of biodiversity.
ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT 31
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