Desertification and drought, phenomena formerly mainly associated with the African Sahel, are increasingly affecting Europe. Recent figures presented at the 16th UN Conference on Desertification (COP16) in Riyadh show that more than 40% of the Earth's unglaciated surface is now dry, and the situation is worsening even in European countries.
On Friday morning 13 December, Prof. Patrick Van Damme, Dean of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ), spoke on this topic in an interview with the Flemish radio station VRT NWS. He discussed the global and local impacts of desertification and the need for international cooperation to find solutions. The interview resulted in an article on the VRT NWS website, which provides a detailed overview of the current issues and outcomes of COP16.
Key facts:
- 4.3 million km2 of dry land: between 1990 and 2020, more than 7 times the size of France of desertified land will be added to the world.
- More than 2.3 billion people: Desertification directly affects the lives of billions of people worldwide.
Europe as a hotspot: the Mediterranean region more and more experiences long droughts, whereby the resulting soil erosion threatens agricultural production.
Europe and future challenges
Desertification also has significant economic impacts on European countries. In Spain and Italy, for example, crop losses affect food prices and the stability of local agriculture.
In the interview, Dean Patrick Van Damme stressed the need for joint investment in restoring degraded land and protecting agricultural landscapes. "The problem of desertification is no longer remote. It affects Europe too and if we do not act now, the costs will be much higher in the future," he warned.
One positive example of a solution is the afforestation programme in China, which has restored more than 320,000 km2 of land. Similar approaches can be an inspiration for European countries.
VRT NWS article