Interactions of Desertification and Climate Book

Desertfication - defined for the purposes of this book as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities" - is now a direct threat to over 250 million people around the world, and an indirect threat to a further 750 million people. In the last 25 years, desertification has become increasingly apparent in the dry sub-humid regions of the world, where average annual rainfall ranges from 750 to 1500mm, and where the majority of the human inhabitants of the drylands now live. Two leading scientists, jointly commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, have produced a referenced report on current knowledge of the interactions of desertification and climate in the drylands (excluding hyper-arid regions) of the world. They conclude by making a series of recommendations for future dryland management strategy.Read More